The word education is derived from educare (Latin) “bring up”, which is related to educere

“bring out”, “bring forth what is within”, “bring out potential” and ducere, “to lead”.

Education in the largest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind,
character or physical ability of an individual.

In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its
accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another.

In modern times it has acquired two different shades of meaning namely:

(1) an institutional instruction, given to students in school colleges formally; and

(2) a pedagogical science, studied by the student of education.

Education is the basis for development and empowerment for every nation. It plays a vital role in
understanding and participating in day to day activities of today’s world. It builds one’s character
and plays a significant role in transmitting one’s culture, belief and values to others in society. It
helps in creating innovations and meeting the growing needs of every nation. The development
of a nation is not measured through the buildings it has built, the roads it has laid down, bridges
it has constructed but by the human resources, the nation has developed through a well-defined
system of education. Although the physical facilities are usually important they are perishable
and valuable. In the absence of proper education, the nation can hardly develop these and
maintain them. Education is therefore more crucial factor not only to equip the new generations
with skills so essential for earning a livelihood but also to create among them an awareness to
social and environmental realities and inculcate in them scientific temper, independence of mind
and spirit which are of paramount importance for them to become responsible citizens.
The term education system generally refers to public schooling, not private schooling, and more
commonly to kindergarten through high school programs. Schools or school districts are typically the
smallest recognized form of “education system” and countries are the largest. States are also
considered to have education systems.

Simply put, an education system comprises everything that goes into educating public-school
students at the federal, state, or community levels:

Laws, policies, and regulations

Public funding, resource allocations and procedures for determining funding levels

State and district administrative offices, school facilities, and transportation vehicles

Human resources, staffing, contracts, compensation, and employee benefits

Books, computers, teaching resources, and other learning materials

And, of course, countless other contributing elements

While the term education system is widely and frequently used in news media and public discourse,
it may be difficult to determine precisely what the term is referring to when it is used without
qualification, specific examples, or additional explanation.

Like the teaching profession, education systems are, by nature, extremely complex and multifaceted,
and the challenges entailed in reforming or improving them can be similarly complex and
multifaceted. Even reforms that appear to be straightforward, simple, or easily achieved may, in
practice, require complicated state-policy changes, union-contract negotiations, school-schedule
modifications, or countless other conditions. For a related discussion, see systemic reform.

Given its widespread use and universal familiarity, the term education system can fall prey to what
psychologist call the “illusion of knowledge”—or the tendency for people to think they have a better
understanding of something than they actually do. For example, most people would say they
understand what a teacher is and does, yet—if pressed—many people would not be able to explain
precisely what people need to do to become certified as teachers, how state policies and requirements
may dictate or influence what teachers teach in a course, what specific instructional methods are
commonly used by teachers and which seem to work best, how educational research informs new
instructional approaches, or how certain kinds of professional development can improve teaching
effectiveness in a school, among many other things. When investigating or reporting on education
reforms, it may be useful to look for more concrete, understandable, and relatable ways to describe
abstract concepts such as education system.
Educative system classification proposal, comprising formal, non-formal and informal education,
their features and relations at the level of concepts and practical utilization is presented.
Considering the problems arising from formal education, alternatives that displace the “center of
gravity” from formal, to non-formal education processes are herein advanced, with regard to the
advantages offered by the latter. The aspects relating to the creation of non-formal systems and
their perspectives are also analyzed in the search for solutions to our current educational
problems.

FORMAL EDUCATION Formal education corresponds to a systematic, organized education

model, structured and administered according to a given set of laws and norms, presenting a
rather rigid curriculum as regards objectives, content and methodology. It is characterized by a
contiguous education process named, as Sarramona1 remarks, “presential education”, which
necessarily involves the teacher, the students and the institution. It corresponds to the education
process normally adopted by our schools and universities. Formal education institutions are
administratively, physically and curricularly organized and require from students a minimum
classroom attendance. There is a program that teachers and students alike must observe,
involving intermediate and final assessments in order to advance students to the next learning
stage. It confers degrees and diplomas pursuant to a quite strict set of regulations. The
methodology is basically expositive, scarcely relating to the desired behavioral objectives - as a
matter of fact, it is but seldom that such targets are operationally established. Assessments are
made on a general basis, for administrative purposes and are infrequently used to improve the
education process. Their character is, for the most part, punitive, obeying a mono-directional
methodology that fails to stimulate students and to provide for their active participation in the
process, though in most cases, failures are ascribed to them. The setting-up of a formal education
system does not consider the students’ standards, values and attitudes that are relevant to the
education system which, generally, is not tested or assessed at the level of student acceptance, as
well as for efficacy and efficiency. The same methodology - poor, ineffective, scarcely creative -
is adopted, whether the universe contains 10, 50 or 200 students. Other institutional resources
than the expositive method are seldom employed and, when they are employed, the basic
learning principles are disregarded. The subjects are presented in isolated blocks, whether as to
content or methodology. Thus, for instance, in the case of Physics, for techno- administrative
reasons the subject is divided into theory, laboratory and exercises and, their adequate order and
correlation is disregarded. In general, the objectives aimed at the personal growth of students are
negligenced and, the basic principles of learning fail to be considered in the planning and the
performance of education systems. It is not excessive to say that in the case of formal education,
for the most part teachers pretend to teach; students pretend to learn; and, institutions pretend to
be really catering to the interests of students and of the society. Thus, generally, formal education
cannot disguise its aloofness from the real needs of the students and of the community.

NON-FORMAL EDUCATION As seen, formal education has a well-defined set of features.

Whenever one or more of these is absent, we may safely state that the educational process has
acquired non-formal features. Therefore, if a given education system is not presential most of the
time - non-contiguous communication - we may say that it has non-formal education features.
Likewise, non-formal education characteristics are found when the adopted strategy does not require
student attendance, decreasing the contacts between teacher and student and most activities take
place outside the institution - as for instance, home reading and paperwork. Educative processes
endowed with flexible curricula and methodology, capable of adapting to the needs and interests of
students, for which time is not a pre-established factor but is contingent upon the student’s work
pace, certainly do not correspond to those comprised by formal education, but fit into the so-called
non-formal education. Proportionally to the number of formal education factors that are absent from
a process, we find several grades of non-formal systems. These preliminary considerations
emphasize the need clearly and objectively to establish the possible basic features of non-formal
education.

INFORMAL EDUCATION Informal education is quite diverse from formal education and,
particularly, from non-formal education, although in certain cases it is capable of maintaining a close
relationship with both. It does not correspond to an organized and systematic view of education;
informal education does not necessarily include the objectives and subjects usually encompassed by
the traditional curricula. It is aimed at students as much as at the public at large and imposes no
obligations whatever their nature. There generally being no control over the performed activities,
informal education does not of necessity regard the providing of degrees or diplomas; it merely
supplements both formal and non-formal education. Informal education for instance comprises the
following activities: (a) - visits to museums or to scientific and other fairs and exhibits, etc.; (b) -
listening to radio broadcasting or watching TV programmes on educational or scientific themes; (c) -
reading texts on sciences, education, technology, etc. in journals and magazines; (d) - participating in
scientific contests, etc.; (e) attending lectures and conferences. There are many instances of
situations/activities encompassed by informal education, from those that may take place in the
students’ homes - such as scientific or didactic games, manipulation of kits, experiments, reading
sessions (biographies, scientific news, etc.) - to institutional activities - lectures in institutions,
visiting museums, etc.

It is easy to see that the higher the degree of systematization and organization involved in informal
education activities, the nearer it will be to non-formal education. This is a relevant fact inasmuch as
it suggests the possibility of transition from informal to non-formal. We must ponder that, considered
by itself, we cannot generally assert whether an educative action belongs to the formal, to the non-
formal or to the informal universe. For instance, a visit to a Science Museum may be an informal
education instance if arising from a personal and spontaneous decision by a student, as it is not
directly related to his scholastic activities. However, if such a visit is part of an established
curriculum, requiring from students a written report and including assessments by the teacher, or
tutor, then it will probably be an activity associated to either the formal or to the non-formal
education.

Education in Singapore is superior because the classes are focused on teaching the students
specific problem solving skills and subjects. The classroom is highly scriptedand the curriculum
is focused on teaching students practical skills that will help them solve problems in the real
world. Exams are extremely important and classes are tightly oriented around them.

Authorities in Singapore are also constantly trying to reevaluate and improve the education
system. Recently, many students have reported rising levels of overstress and psychological
problems brought on by academic rigor. In response, Singapore has stopped listing the top-
scoring student on the national exam in order to ease some of the pressure students may feel. The
country has also incorporated a strategy called Teach Less, Learn More, which encourages
teachers to focus on the quality of education, not the quantity.

Another reason the education in Singapore is so excellent is simply the Singaporean culture.
Parents play a crucial role in their child’s education. The “talent myth,” which states that some
kids are naturally smarter than others, is non-existent in Singapore. A local newspaper, The
Straits, reported that 70 percent of parents sign their children up for extra classes outside of their
regular school hours. In local bookstores, over half of the store is dedicated to educational
material.

The education system in Singapore is, in many ways, superior to the education system in the
Western world. This is largely due to the country’s culture and first-rate educational
leadership. Singapore has a lot to teach the rest of the world; if other countries would adopt some
of Singapore’s strategies, there would surely be improvement in education around the globe.
We all want an education system that helps every Filipino to succeed in the 21st century. We at
Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) believe that we can achieve high-quality education by
improving teacher training and certification, encouraging industry-academe partnerships,
decentralizing education delivery, and participating in international testing.

We must develop better teachers by improving the teacher qualification and screening process.
Teachers in the Philippines need much help. When surveyed by the World Bank in 2014, the
average Philippine teacher could only answer fewer than half of the questions correctly when
tested for knowledge in math, science and English. This indicates that the screening mechanism,
the board licensure exam for professional teachers which is essentially a knowledge exam, is not
very reliable. Worse, PBEd monitoring shows that a number of teacher education institutions
(TEIs) with consistent passing rates of less than 10 percent continue to operate. Perhaps we
should explore a qualification process where only the best and brightest can enroll in TEIs, only
competent schools are allowed to offer teacher education, and licensure exams are radically
improved or eliminated.

We must invest in accountability measures to help us know whether we are on the right track in
terms of student learning and postgraduation outcomes. The last time we took part in
international testing was 14 years ago, with dismal results. But while seemingly discouraging at
first, the results of our participation shed light on the need for a move to the K-to-12 basic
education system and calls for more and better classrooms and teachers.

Over the years, our country has made great strides in increasing resources for education. This has
led to more children going to and staying in school. But it all means nothing if our youth
continue to earn diplomas and little else to show for their success. We therefore need to improve
teacher development, encourage industry-academe partnerships, explore decentralizing education
delivery, and invest in accountability metrics. Together, let us work for a high-quality
educational system for all Filipinos, because education that does not lead to better lives is no
education at all.