NQESH /Principals Test REVIEW, RA 9155 " THE GOVERNANCE OF BASIC EDUCATION ACT OF 2001."

It is hereby declared the policy of the State to protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality basic education and to make such education accessible to all by providing all Filipino children a free and compulsory education in the elementary level and free education in the high school level. Such education shall also include alternative learning systems for out-of-school youth and adult learners. It shall be the goal of basic education to provide them with the skills, knowledge and values they need to become caring, self- reliant, productive and patriotic citizens.

The school shall be the heart of the formal education system. It is where children learn. Schools shall have a single aim of providing the best possible basic education for all learners.

Governance of basic education shall begin at the national level. It is at the regions, divisions, schools and learning centers — herein referred to as the field offices — where the policy and principle for the governance of basic education shall be translated into programs, projects and services developed, adapted and offered to fit local needs.

The State shall encourage local initiatives for improving the quality of basic education. The State shall ensure that the values, needs and aspirations of a school community are reflected in the program of education for the children, out-of-school youth and adult learners. Schools and learning centers shall be empowered to make decisions on what is best for the learners they serve.

Purposes and Objectives. – The purposes and objectives of this Act are:

(a) To provide the framework for the governance of basic education which shall set the general directions for educational policies and standards and establish authority, accountability and responsibility for achieving higher learning outcomes;

(b) To define the roles and responsibilities of, and provide resources to, the field offices which shall implement educational programs, projects and services in communities they serve;

(c) To make schools and learning centers the most important vehicle for the teaching and learning of national values and for developing in the Filipino learners love of country and pride in its rich heritage;

(d) To ensure that schools and learning centers receive the kind of focused attention they deserve and that educational programs, projects and services take into account the interests of all members of the community;

(e) To enable the schools and learning centers to reflect the values of the community by allowing teachers/learning facilitators and other staff to have the flexibility to serve the needs of all learners;

(f) To encourage local initiatives for the improvement of schools and learning centers and to provide the means by which these improvements may be achieved and sustained; and

(g) To establish schools and learning centers as facilities where schoolchildren are able to learn a range of core competencies prescribed for elementary and high school education programs or where the out-of-school youth and adult learners are provided alternative learning programs and receive accreditation for at least the equivalent of a high school education.