Vocational instruction.—Graded vocational instruction occupies an important place in the school curricula. Approximately 14 per cent of the total time in the primary grades and about 17 per cent of the total time in the general intermediate course is devoted to this form of instruction. The special intermediate vocational courses include farming and trades for boys and housekeeping and household arts for girls. The chief aims of industrial instruction are: first, industrial intelligence; second, industrial skill; and, third, industrial sympathy. The educational and economic values of industrial education are kept in view. It may be of interest to mention that the Bureau of Education annually receives orders amounting to $150,000 a year from various firms abroad, especially from America, for handicraft articles; that trade school production yearly is over $100,000 and that the yearly agricultural production of the schools is over $281,000.

Agricultural education.—The Philippines being essentially an agricultural country, agricultural education is given considerable attention. The Bureau of Education at present maintains 13 large agricultural schools, 15 farm schools, and 162 settlement farm schools. The agricultural school range in area from about 125 to about 3,000 acres; the farm schools, from about 40 to 125 acres; the settlement farm schools, from about 30 to about 100 acres. In addition to these, the Bureau of Education has an extensive program of school and home gardening and maintains numerous agricultural clubs for boys and girls. Under the stress of the world-wide economic crisis brought about by the World War, the general office appealed to the country for increased productions, and in response to this appeal, the schools now have over 4,000 school gardens and over 100,000 home gardens. Annually there are held over 20,000 Garden Days where there are over 143,000 pupils’ exhibits and about 40,000 farmers’ exhibits.

Athletics.—The system of physical education here compares favorably with the best in the world. The temptation of developing only a few “stars” has been valiantly resisted and the athletic slogan of “Athletics for Everybody” has been stressed instead. As a result of this policy over 96 per cent of the pupils enrolled in the elementary and secondary schools take active participation in the program of athletics and games during the year.

Primary and Secondary Curriculum.—In the seven years’ course the studies are principally language, reading, good manners and right conduct, arithmetic, civics, hygiene and sanitation, writing, drawing, music, and Philippine history and government, in addition to a definite vocational training and organized play and athletics. Besides the regular secondary course, specialized secondary courses such as the normal, commercial, trade, agricultural, and domestic science are offered.

Number of pupils.—The enrollment of pupils in the public schools below the University of the Philippines from the school year 1913–1914 to 1920–1921 is as follows:

YearEnrollmentIncrease over previous year
Number Per cent
1913–1914 621,114 180,980 41.0
1914–1915 621,114 ————
1915–1916 638,548 17,434 2.8
1916–1917 675,997 37,449 5.8
1917–1918 671,398 4,699 .7
1918–1919 681,588 10,290 1.5
1919–1920 791,626 110,040 16.0
1920–1921. 943,364 151,736 19.0
1921–1922. 1,077,342 133,978 13.0

Number of schools and teachers.—The number of schools rose from 2,934 in 1913 to 7,670 in March, 1922, representing an increase of 128 per cent. The average annual decrease in the number of schools from 1909 to 1913 (5 years preceding Filipino autonomy) was 181, or 4.8 per cent, while the average yearly increase from 1914 to 1920 was 416.

The number of Filipino teachers increased from 7,671 in 1913 to 24,017 in 1922, which means an increase of 16,346, or 213 per cent. The number of American teachers dropped from 658 in March, 1913, to 347 in March, 1922.

Number of school buildings.—The number of permanent school buildings constructed up to 1913 was 624, which number rose to 1,301. In other words, during nine years (1913–1922), 108 per cent more permanent buildings were erected.

Universities.—Foremost among the universities in the Islands is the University of the Philippines, which corresponds to a state university. It gives courses in liberal arts, the sciences, education, medicine and surgery, dentistry, pharmacy, agriculture, veterinary medicine, engineering, law, forestry, music, and the fine arts. Collegiate degrees are conferred upon graduates in all the courses mentioned with the exception of the last two, for which diplomas of proficiency are issued to the graduates.