A survey of the educational system of the Philippine islands by the Board of educational survey, created under acts 3162 and 3196 of the Philippine Legislature.

348 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES

on the grounds that it will be of value to the pupil if he perchance should
modify his decision regarding his future. A rigid application of this
principle will appear to work hardship on a few individuals who wish
to transfer to other schools, but this is immeasurably better than sacrificing the great majority of the pupils to the policy of aimlessness and
making all the work of the school ineffective.
In the support of secondary education no single policy should be
followed. In the case of each type of school the principle to be recognized is that of adjusting the means of support to the social needs.
No abstract principle of social justice can be rigidly followed. Those
forms of education which are in danger of being neglected, if left to
either individual or provincial initiative, should receive large insular
support; whereas those which already hold the attention and loyalty of
the people can be left to local resources. This means that the rural
and normal schools, and the vocational schools generally, if they are
to prosper, must be supported largely out of insular funds. Moreover,
no tuition charges should be attached to these forms of secondary education. The case of the academic school is altogether different. It
is in high popular favor, and many are seeking and securing admission who should be enrolled elsewhere. The burden of the support of
this school should therefore be thrown upon the province or region
served. Under such conditions there is not the slightest danger that
this institution would receive a smaller measure of support than is socially
desirable. Moreover, until the general level of prosperity is higher
than it is today, the Commission recommends that the academic high
school be supported largely from tuition charges.
We have outlined in a general way the type of reorganization which
seems desirable. We shall now discuss in greater detail the purposes and
procedures of the rural and academic high schools. Since the whole
problem of teacher training is considered at length in another section
of this report, a discussion of the normal school will be unnecessary.
Sufficient has already been said to make clear the place of this institution in the system of secondary education. Concerning the other types
of secondary schools-trade, commercial, nautical, fine arts-nothing will
be written except as reference is made to them in the discussion of
the other institutions. Since trade and industrial education is largely
on the intermediate level, and since these forms of education receive
detailed attention in the preceding chapter, their consideration here is
not required. The other schools mentioned are of such highly specialized type that sufficient space for their adequate treatment cannot be
spared.