Pursuant to Republic Act 10625, also known as the 2013 Philippine Statistics Act, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is mandated to prescribe and maintain uniform statistical standards and classification systems to harmonize and ensure comparability of government statistics based on international standards/guidelines, such as the United Nations international standard classification systems. 

 

One of the national standard classification systems being maintained by the PSA is the Philippine Standard Classification of Education (PSCED). The PSCED is a detailed classification of all educational levels in the Philippine educational system. It is based upon two principal criteria, namely (1) level of education, and (2) subject-matter content of the study. It is patterned after the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) developed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the purpose of assembling, compiling, and presenting education statistics, both nationally and internationally. 

 

So far, the Philippines has prepared the following classifications of education patterned after the corresponding international standard classifications of education:  
 

 

The 2017 PSCED is the latest version of the PSCED which is aligned after the 2011 ISCED and 2013 ISCED Fields of Education (ISCED-F) developed by UNESCO.

 

The first draft of the 2017 PSCED was initially prepared by the PSA through the Statistical Classifications Division (SCD) of the Standards Service (SS) under the Censuses and Technical Coordination Office (CTCO). A series of consultation meetings to review the draft was conducted with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). 

 

The revised draft was then reviewed by the Technical Working Group on Education Classification (TWGEC) chaired by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The TWGEC is composed of the following members: Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Education (DepEd),  Department of Labor and Employment - Bureau of Local Employment (DOLE-BLE), Department of Science and Technology - Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (UNACOM) and the PSA. The TWGEC then submitted the revised draft to the PSA Interagency Committee on Statistical Standards and Classifications (IACSSC) for endorsement to the PSA Board.

 

The PSA Board approved the 2017 PSCED through PSA Board Resolution No. 13, Series of 2017 for adoption by all concerned government agencies and instrumentalities. 

 

 

The 2017 PSCED aims to integrate the different classification schemes used by various government agencies, education and research institutions, and international organizations. It is used for standardizing and facilitating the compilation of quality education statistics for the country as basis for educational planning, manpower training, labor market studies and other related activities. It is useful to those responsible in compiling statistics on education, either from censuses and surveys or from administrative records. 

 

It is also used in the electronic verification and certification system being developed to track progress of students upon enrollment until graduation. Most importantly, it serves as a guide for bilateral trade negotiations of the Philippines with foreign countries especially in the Mutual Recognition Agreement, which provides for labor exchange/sharing among trade partners.

 

 

The following criteria were used in classifying educational programs under the 2017 PSCED:

 

The 2017 PSCED classifies education programs by their content using two (2) main cross-classification variables: levels of education and fields of education.

Levels represent broad steps of educational progression in terms of complexity of educational content from foundational to complex. These categories group education programs in relation to gradations of learning experiences, as well as the knowledge, skills and competencies each program is designed to impart. Levels of education are grouped as follows:

 

0 Early Childhood Education

1 Primary Education

2 Lower Secondary Education

3 Upper Secondary Education

4 Post-Secondary Non-Tertiary Education

5 Short-Cycle Tertiary Education or Equivalent

6 Bachelor Level Education or Equivalent

7 Master Level Education or Equivalent

8 Doctoral Level Education or Equivalent

 

On the other hand, a field is the broad domain, branch, or area of content covered by an education program or qualification. These categories are grouped based on the similarity of the subject matter. Classifying fields of education has been designed in the 2013 ISCED-F as a three-level hierarchy having 11 broad fields, 58 narrow fields, and 149 detailed fields.

 

 

The classification of fields of education is mainly intended for use at the tertiary level of education (Levels 5, 6, 7, and 8) and for vocational education and training programs and qualifications at the secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary levels (levels 3 and 4).

 

 

For convenience in obtaining aggregates at each level, the code number in the 2017 PSCED is so designated that:

 

First level (Level) - Levels of Education are represented by the first digit

 

Second level (Broad Field) - Broad fields are represented by the second and third digits for Levels 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8

 

Third level (Narrow Field) - Narrow fields are represented by the fourth digit

 

Fourth level (Detailed Field) - Detailed fields are represented by the fifth digit

 

 

The main subject matter of a program or qualification determines the field of education into which it is classified. For practical purposes, the main subject matter of a program or qualification is determined by the detailed field in which the majority (i.e. more than 50%) or clearly predominant part of students’ intended learning time is spent. Where there is insufficient information available to determine the relative shares of intended learning time, the program or qualification is classified in the detailed field listed first in its title.

 

Where a main subject cannot be identified because the program or qualification covers several detailed fields, or even several narrow or broad fields, in which none dominates, the program or qualification is classified                     in an interdisciplinary category. As opposed to grouping all inter-disciplinary programs under one category in the 2008 PSCED, each broad field has an              inter-disciplinary program category; the “leading subject rule” is used to determine the broad field into which the interdisciplinary study is classified. Such programs are classified by using “8” at the narrow and detailed field levels within the leading broad field as “Interdisciplinary programs or qualifications involving the broad field”.

 

Supplementary codes are used when processing data not covered in the classification structure. Cases “not further defined” are programs or qualifications not adequately or sufficiently described than that known at a higher level of the classification. Such cases are designated by the use of one or more “0” at the end of codes at the narrow or detailed fields (as appropriate).

 

On the other hand, cases “not elsewhere classified” are programs and qualifications where the particular detailed field is known and adequately described but is not explicitly provided for in the classification. Such cases are designated by the use of “9” at the detailed field level of the classification (i.e. as the last digit).

 

During data collection, where the field of study is completely unknown, a code of ‘9999’ can be assigned or, in surveys which are limited to the narrow or broad field levels only, ‘999’ or ‘99’ respectively.

 

 

The following changes were adopted and incorporated in the 2017 PSCED:

 

A. On Educational Levels:

B. On Fields of Education and Training