ARTICLE XIV

EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, ARTS, CULTURE AND SPORTS

EDUCATION

Section 1. The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels,
and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.

Section 2. The State shall:

(1) Establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education
relevant to the needs of the people and society;

(2) Establish and maintain a system of free public education in the elementary and high school levels.
Without limiting the natural right of parents to rear their children, elementary education is compulsory
for all children of school age;

(3) Establish and maintain a system of scholarship grants, student loan programs, subsidies, and
other incentives which shall be available to deserving students in both public and private schools,
especially to the underprivileged;

(4) Encourage non-formal, informal, and indigenous learning systems, as well as self-learning,
independent, and out-of-school study programs particularly those that respond to community needs;
and

(5) Provide adult citizens, the disabled, and out-of-school youth with training in civics, vocational
efficiency, and other skills.

Section 3. (1) All educational institutions shall include the study of the Constitution as part of the
curricula.

(2) They shall inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect for human rights,
appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical development of the country, teach the
rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen ethical and spiritual values, develop moral character and
personal discipline, encourage critical and creative thinking, broaden scientific and technological
knowledge, and promote vocational efficiency.

(3) At the option expressed in writing by the parents or guardians, religion shall be allowed to be
taught to their children or wards in public elementary and high schools within the regular class hours
by instructors designated or approved by the religious authorities of the religion to which the children
or wards belong, without additional cost to the Government.

Section 4.(1) The State recognizes the complementary roles of public and private institutions in the
educational system and shall exercise reasonable supervision and regulation of all educational
institutions.

(2) Educational institutions, other than those established by religious groups and mission boards,
shall be owned solely by citizens of the Philippines or corporations or associations at least sixty  per
centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens. The Congress may, however, require
increased Filipino equity participation in all educational institutions.
The control and administration of educational institutions shall be vested in citizens of the Philippines.

No educational institution shall be established exclusively for aliens and no group of aliens shall
comprise more than one-third of the enrollment in any school. The provisions of this subsection shall
not apply to schools established for foreign diplomatic personnel and their dependents and, unless
otherwise provided by law, for other foreign temporary residents.

(3) All revenues and assets of non-stock, non-profit educational institutions used actually, directly,
and exclusively for educational purposes shall be exempt from taxes and duties. Upon the dissolution
or cessation of the corporate existence of such institutions, their assets shall be disposed of in the
manner provided by law.

Proprietary educational institutions, including those cooperatively owned, may likewise be entitled to
such exemptions, subject to the limitations provided by law, including restrictions on dividends and
provisions for reinvestment.

(4) Subject to conditions prescribed by law, all grants, endowments, donations, or contributions used
actually, directly, and exclusively for educational purposes shall be exempt from tax.

Section 5. (1) the State shall take into account regional and sectoral needs and conditions and shall
encourage local planning in the development of educational policies and programs.

(2) Academic freedom shall be enjoyed in all institutions of higher learning.

(3) Every citizen has a right to select a profession or course of study, subject to fair, reasonable, and
equitable admission and academic requirements.

(4) The State shall enhance the right of teachers to professional advancement. Non-teaching
academic and non-academic personnel shall enjoy the protection of the State.

(5) The State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education and ensure that teaching will
attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and
other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.

LANGUAGE

Section 6. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it evolves, it shall be further
developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages.

Subject to provisions of law and as the Congress may deem appropriate, the Government shall take
steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as
language of instruction in the educational system.

Section 7. For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines
are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English.

The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary
media of instruction therein.

Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis.

Section 8. This Constitution shall be promulgated in Filipino and English and shall be translated into
major regional languages, Arabic, and Spanish.

Section 9. The Congress shall establish a national language commission composed of

representatives of various regions and disciplines which shall undertake, coordinate, and promote
researches for the development, propagation, and preservation of Filipino and other languages.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Section 10. Science and technology are essential for national development and progress. The State
shall give priority to research and development, invention, innovation, and their utilization; and to
science and technology education, training, and services. It shall support indigenous, appropriate,
and self-reliant scientific and technological capabilities, and their application to the country’s
productive systems and national life.

Section 11. The Congress may provide for incentives, including tax deductions, to encourage private
participation in programs of basic and applied scientific research. Scholarships, grants-in-aid, or other
forms of incentives shall be provided to deserving science students, researchers, scientists,
inventors, technologists, and specially gifted citizens.

Section 12. The State shall regulate the transfer and promote the adaptation of technology from all
sources for the national benefit. It shall encourage the widest participation of private groups, local
governments, and community-based organizations in the generation and utilization of science and
technology.

Section 13. The State shall protect and secure the exclusive rights of scientists, inventors, artists, and
other gifted citizens to their intellectual property and creations, particularly when beneficial to the
people, for such period as may be provided by law.

ARTS AND CULTURE

Section 14. The State shall foster the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution of a Filipino
national culture based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of free artistic and intellectual
expression.

Section 15. Arts and letters shall enjoy the patronage of the State. The State shall conserve, promote,
and popularize the nation’s historical and cultural heritage and resources, as well as artistic creations.

Section 16. All the country’s artistic and historic wealth constitutes the cultural treasure of the nation
and shall be under the protection of the State which may regulate its disposition.

Section 17. The State shall recognize, respect, and protect the rights of indigenous cultural
communities to preserve and develop their cultures, traditions, and institutions. It shall consider these
rights in the formulation of national plans and policies.

Section 18. (1) The State shall ensure equal access to cultural opportunities through the educational
system, public or private cultural entities, scholarships, grants and other incentives, and community
cultural centers, and other public venues.

(2) The State shall encourage and support researches and studies on the arts and culture.
 SPORTS

Section 19. (1) The State shall promote physical education and encourage sports programs, league
competitions, and amateur sports, including training for international competitions, to foster self-
discipline, teamwork, and excellence for the development of a healthy and alert citizenry.

Constitutional Basis of Philippine Education

     There are three Articles in the Philippine Constitution of 1987 that deals,
directly or indirectly, with the educational system in the Philippines. These are:
Article II, Article XIV and Article XV.  Article II gives the declared policies of the
State, Article XIV deals with education, science and technology, arts, culture and
sports  and Article XV contains provisions for the family and Filipino children. What
are the declared policies of the State insofar as education is concerned? The
State declares in Article II, Sections 11, 12, 13, and 17 that:
 1.  it values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for
human rights;
 2.  it shall strengthen the family as a basic, self-governing social unit and protect
the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception;
 3.  it shall provide support to parents in the rearing of their children for civic
efficiency and the development of moral character;
 4.  it recognizes the vital role of the youth in the country's development;
 5.  it shall promote and protect the physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social
well-being of the youth;
 6.  it makes education, science and technology, arts, culture and sports a priority
of the State.
     With these declared policies, the State is mandated to provide a system of
education for the Filipino children and the youth. The kind of education that is
envisioned in the Constitution is "quality education,"  a "complete, adequate, and
integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society," 
and the State must ensure that all citizens can access this envisioned system of
education (Article XIV, Section 1, and Article XIV, Section 2, Sub-section 1).  To
achieve these goals, the Constitution (Article XIV):
 1.  mandates the State to provide for a free public elementary and secondary
education;
 2.  mandates the State to provide scholarship grants, student loan programs,
subsidies and other incentives to deserving and poor students;
 3.  requires all educational institutions to include the study of the Constitution in
their curricula, inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love for humanity,
promote respect for human rights and the appreciation of the role of national
heroes in the historical development of the country, teach the rights and duties of
citizenship, and encourage critical and creative thinking;
 4.  mandates the State to manage and regulate, reasonably, all educational
institutions;
 5.  orders the State to take into account regional and sectoral needs;
 6.  gives academic freedom to all institutions of higher learning;
 7.  ensures the right of all citizens to select a profession or course of study,
subject to fair, reasonable and equitable  academic requirements;
 8.  mandates the State to enhance the right of teachers to professional
advancement;
 9.  mandates the State to give the highest budgetary priority to education;
10.  provides that Filipino is the national language of the Philippines;
11.  makes English and Filipino as the official languages;
12.  mandates the State to give priority to research and development and
innovation and to protect the rights of scientists, inventors, artists and other gifted
citizens to their intellectual property rights;
13.  mandates the State to preserve and enrich the Filipino national culture based
 on the principles of unity in diversity and free expression;
14.  designates the State as patron of the arts and letters.
15.  mandates the State to protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities
and to use these rights as inputs for national plans and policies;
16.  requires the State to support researches and studies on the arts and culture;
17.  mandates the State to promote physical education and sports programs in
order to instill self-discipline and foster teamwork and excellence for the
development of a healthy and alert citizenry.
In addition to all of these, the State is also mandated to protect and defend the
"right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special
protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other
conditions prejudicial to their development"  as well as the "right of families or
family associations to participate in the planning and implementation of policies
and programs that affect them" (Article XV, Section 3, Sub-sections 3 and 4).

(2) All educational institutions shall undertake regular sports activities throughout the country in
cooperation with athletic clubs and other sectors.

 Provisions on Education Found in Three Philippine Constitutions

     The last decade of the 19th century was a turbulent period in Philippine history. It was period of
rapid transition brought about by the revolution which the katipunero (Filipino revolutionaries) started.
The revolution against the Spanish colonial administration erupted in August, 1896, and it continued
until 1898. By this time, the Filipinos have achieved the independence they were fighting for their
country, and in 1899, the first Philippine constitution was penned. This was known as the Malolos
Constitution of 1899, which declared that the Philippines was a free and independent state. Naturally,
the provisions of the Constitution were centered on the promotion of this declaration; one of these
provisions dealt with the creation of the council of government. The Malolos Constitution mandated
the State to create seven cabinet positions that included Public Education, Finance, Interior,
Communications and Public Works,   Agriculture, Industry and Commerce,  Foreign Relations,  and 
War and Marine (Article IX, Section 73).
     A new war broke out in 1901 when the Americans started to occupy the country. This was the war
for independence waged by Filipinos against the American imperialist forces. The Americans won
because of their superior firepower, and they became the new foreign masters and ruled the country
until 1946. It was during the American occupation of the Philippine Islands that a new constitution was
created. This was the Philippine Constitution of 1935, and it reaffirmed the existence of the Public
Education Department as legal (Article VII, Section 11, Sub-section 1). It also contained two new
provisions related to  education. One was a declared principle of the State which was to provide aid
and support to parents in their natural right and duty in rearing the youth for civic efficiency (Article II,
Section 4). The other involved exemption from taxation of cemeteries, churches, convents, lands,
buildings and improvements used exclusively for religious, charitable or educational purposes (Article
VI, Section 22, Sub-section 3).
     World War II broke out in 1941, and the Japanese imperial forces became the new colonizers of
the Philippines. The war ended in 1945, and in 1946, the Philippines, once more, became a free and
independent state. More than twenty-five years later, a new constitution was written. This was the
Philippine Constitution of 1973, and it contained a good number of provisions on education. Most of
these provisions were stated in Article XV on General Provisions but some provisions were placed in
Article II which was the "Declaration of Principles and State Policies." It was the declared principles
and policies of the State (Article II, Sections 4-7) to:
 1.  strengthen the family as a basic social institution;
 2.  aid and support parents in their natural right and duty in rearing the youth for civic efficiency and
the development of moral character;
 3.  recognize the vital role of the youth in nation-building and promote their physical, intellectual,
social, moral and spiritual well-being;
 4.  promote social justice; and
 5.  establish, maintain and ensure adequate social services in education.
Article XV (General Provisions) contained the envisioned system of Philippine education, which was
"a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the goals of national
development." The Philippine Constitution of 1973 (Article XV, Sections 8-11):
 1.  mandated the State to regulate all educational institutions;
 2.  granted academic freedom to all institutions of higher learning;
 3.  required the study of the Constitution in all schools;
 4.  mandated the State to maintain a system of free public elementary education, provide citizenship
and vocational training to adult citizens and out-of-school youth, and establish and maintain a system
of scholarship to poor and deserving students;
 5.  mandated the State to promote scientific research and invention and to give priority to science
and technology;
 6.  made it essential to preserve and develop the Filipino culture for national identity;
 7.  designated the State as patron of the arts and letters;
 8.  ensured the protection of the rights of investors, authors and artists to their inventions writings
and artistic creations;
 9.  mandated the State to provide scholarships, grants-in-aid or other forms of incentive  to specially
gifted children; and
10.  mandated the State to take into account the customs, traditions, beliefs and interests of  cultural
communities in the formulation and implementation of state policies.