Definition and Uses

The PSCED is a detailed classification of all educational levels in the Philippine educational system.
It aims to integrate the different coding schemes being used by various government agencies, education and research institutions, and international organizations. It also seeks to standardize and facilitate the compilation of the country’s education statistics as basis for educational planning, manpower training, labor market studies and other related activities. Its major uses include the following:

• to provide the basic conceptual framework for the collection, compilation and presentation of statistics in the Philippine educational system; 

• to promote better understanding and cooperation among data users, both within the national and international educational communities;

• to contribute to the formulation of educational policies, standards     and procedures in the country; and

• to enhance the generation of quality education statistics.

The PSCED is patterned after the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) developed by the United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Agencies Responsible

A Technical Working Group on Education Classification (TWGEC) under the Technical Committee on Statistical Standards and Classifications (TCSSC) has been established by the NSCB to develop the classification system for education. The TWG is composed of representatives from the following agencies:

CHAIR: 

• Commission on Higher Education (CHED) 

MEMBERS:

• Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)

• Planning Service (PS)/Department of Education (DepEd) 

• Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE)/Department of Education (DepEd)

• Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS)/Department of Education (DepEd)

• Science Education Institute (SEI)/Department of Science and Technology (DOST)

• Bureau of Local Employment (BLE)/Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)

• National Statistics Office (NSO)

• National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB)

Contents

The PSCED publication is divided into three parts:

• Part I contains the definition/description of educational levels, broad groups, fields and programs;

• Part II contains the coding scheme used for the different educational levels, fields, programs and courses. Presented under this section is the list of educational courses and their corresponding codes - classified according to levels, broad groups, fields and programs; and

• Part III contains the alphabetic index.

The definition/description of educational levels, broad groups, fields and programs is based on the ISCED, but have been modified to coincide with the Philippine's educational programs and course offerings.

Coding Scheme

The coding scheme of the PSCED is similar to that of the ISCED with the following codes:

• 1-digit code representing the level

• 2-digit code representing the broad group

• 3-digit code level representing the field

• 5-digit code level representing the program

The Philippine education classification system conforms to international standard (i.e., ISCED), and is comparable across countries up to 5-digit code only. The PSCED coding scheme, however, has been extended to 7-digit code representing the particular course.