Proclamation No. 480 (1989)

MALACAÑAN PALACE

MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

[ Proclamation No. 480, October 16, 1989 ]

DECLARING THE PERIOD 1990 TO 1999 AS THE “DECADE OF EDUCATION FOR ALL”

WHEREAS, the Constitution mandates that 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;

WHEREAS, the State shall encourage nonformal, informal and indigenous learning systems, as well as self-learning, independent, and out-of-school study programs particularly those that respond to community needs;

WHEREAS, education, the empowerment of the population with basic levels of learning, skills, knowledge and values is the fundamental right of all;

WHEREAS, education as the key human right without which other rights are vulnerable, must be for all;

WHEREAS, Education for All implies equal access to education and achievement of at least the learnings essential for functioning effectively in society and to continuing learning;

WHEREAS, the Education for All targets are universalization of primary (elementary) education, eradication of illiteracy and continuing education for out of school youth and adults;

WHEREAS, there is a worldwide concern for Education for All and a need to forge a grand alliance among all sectors for the purpose of developing and implementing a national plan of action for the next decade to insure at least basic education for all Filipinos;

WHEREAS, the UN General Assembly has designated 1990 the International Literacy Year to usher in a new decade that is hoped to put a stronger emphasis on human resources; and

WHEREAS, there is a need for the State to commit resources and redirect its policies and priorities towards the fulfillment of the objectives of this declaration;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the power vested in me by law, do hereby declare the period 1990-1999 as the “Decade of Education for All.”

For the purpose of providing direction for the national program of Education for All, formulating policies and coordinating the preparation of the national plan of action for 1990-1999, and for initiating legislative proposals and other executive decisions in support of the objective of this proclamation, there is hereby created a National Committee on Education for All to be composed of:

Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports | – | Chairman Secretary of Finance | – | Member Director-General, National Economic and Development Authority | – | Member Secretary of Budget and Management | – | Member Secretary of Social Welfare and Development | – | Member Secretary of Health | – | Member Secretary of Labor and Employment | – | Member Secretary of Local Government | – | Member Secretary of Agriculture | – | Member Secretary of Science and Technology | – | Member Secretary of Foreign Affairs | – | Member Chairman, Committee on Education Philippine Senate | – | Member Vice Chairman, Committee on Education Philippine Senate | – | Member Chairman, Committee on Education House of Representatives | – | Member Vice-Chairman, Committee on Education House of Representatives | – | Member Undersecretary, of Education, Culture and Sports in charge of Nonformal Education | – | Member Undersecretary, Philippine Information Agency | – | Member President, Association of Non-Traditional Education of the Philippines (ANTEP) | – | Member Executive Director, Philippine Business for Social Progress | – | Member Secretary General, UNESCO National Commission | – | Member President, Coordinating Council for Private Education Associations (COCOPEA) | – | Member President and General Manager, Philippine Public School Teachers Association (PPSTA) | – | Member Student Regents, University of the Philippines | – | Member Philippine Representative, United Nations Development Programme | – | Member Philippine Representative, United Nations Children’s Fund | – | Member Resident Representative, World Bank | – | Member Chief, Social Infrastructure Division, Asian Development Bank | – | Member

The members of the Committee shall designate qualified and competent staff as their permanent alternates who shall represent them whenever they are unable to attend Committee meetings.

The Committee shall have a Technical Secretariat composed of members from government and non-government agencies who shall be designated by the Chairman of the National Committee.

The Technical Secretariat shall provide technical and administrative support for the Education for All Program and serve as liaison for the National Committee.

The Committee through the Technical Secretariat may call upon any department, bureau, office or instrumentality of the government for such assistance as it may need in the performance of its functions. It may also seek assistance from non-government agencies to achieve the goals of Education for All.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

Done in the City of Manila, this 16th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-nine.

(Sgd.) CORAZON C. AQUINO

By the President:

(Sgd.) CATALINO MACARAIG, JR.

Executive Secretary