Section 4. Guiding Principles of the Ten-Year Program. —

In order to lay the foundation and to advance the attainment of these objectives, a ten-year national education development program shall be formulated based on the following:

1. Improvement of curricular programs and quality of instruction of all levels by way of upgrading physical faculties, adoption of cost-saving instructional technology, and training and re-training of teachers and administrators;

2. Upgrading of academic standards through accreditation schemes, admissions testing and guidance counselling;

3. Democratization of access to educational opportunities through the provision of financial assistance to deserving students, skills training programs for out-of-school youth and continuing education program for non-literate adults;

4. Restructuring of higher education to become more responsive to national development needs through a planned system of incentives and assistance to both public and private colleges and universities and synchronization of curricular programs, staffing patterns and institutional development activities;

5. Expansion of existing programs and establishment of new ones designed to train middle-level technical and agricultural manpower; and

6. Instituting reform in the educational financing system to facilitate the shift of funding responsibility for elementary and secondary education from the national to the local government, thereby increasing government participation in higher education.