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REPUBLIC ACTS
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8980
AN ACT PROMULGATING A COMPREHENSIVE POLICY AND A NATIONAL SYSTEM FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT (ECCD), PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. |
Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "ECCD Act". Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State to promote the rights of children to survival, development and special protection with full recognition of the nature of childhood and its special needs; and to support parents in their roles as primary caregivers and as their children's first teachers. The State shall institutionalize a National System for Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) that is comprehensive, integrative and sustainable, that involves multi-sectoral and inter-agency collaboration at the national and local levels among government; among service providers, families and communities; and among the public and private sectors, non-government organizations, professional associations, and academic institutions, This System shall promote the inclusion of children with special needs and advocate respect for cultural diversity. It shall be anchored on complementary strategies for ECCD that include service delivery for children from conception to age six (6), educating parents and caregivers, encouraging the active involvement of parents and communities in ECCD programs, raising awareness about the importance of ECCD, and promoting community development efforts that improve the quality of life for young children and families, Sec. 3. Objectives. - The objectives of the National ECCD System are:
(b) To enhance the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, psychological, spiritual and language development of young children; (c) To enhance the role of parents and other caregivers as the primary caregivers and educators of their children from birth onwards; (d) To facilitate a smooth transition from care and education provided at home to community or school-based setting and to primary school; (e) To enhance the capabilities of service providers and their supervisors to comply with quality standards for various ECCD programs; (f) To enhance and sustain the efforts of communities to promote ECCD programs and ensure that special support is provided for poor and disadvantaged communities; (g) To ensure that young children are adequately prepared for the formal learning system and that both public and private schools are responsive to the developmental needs of these children; (h) To establish an efficient system for early identification, prevention, referral and intervention for developmental disorders and disabilities in early childhood; and (i) To improve the quality standards of public and private ECCD programs through, but not limited to, a registration and credential system for ECCD service providers. Sec. 4. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act:
(2)
Home-based
programs, such as the neighborhood-based play groups, family day care
programs,
parent education and home visiting programs.
(c) ECCD Curriculum refers to the age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate educational objectives, program of activities, organized learning experiences and recommended learning materials for children that are implemented by service providers through center and home-based programs. It shall consist of national program goals and guidelines, instructional objectives, and content outlines integrating local learning experiences and indigenous learning materials. (d) Parent Education refers to the various formal and alternative means of providing parents with information, skills, and support systems to assist them in their roles as their children's primary caregivers and educators. These include public and private parent education programs linked to center, home and media-based child care and education programs.
(b) Parent Education and Involvement, Advocacy, and Mobilization of Communities - which harness and develop parents' strengths as providers of ECCD at home, active partners or other stakeholders, advocates for community concerns that affect children, and pillars of support for local and national ECCD programs through community organization efforts. (c) Human Resource Development Program - which establishes mechanisms for the systematic professionalization of ECCD service providers, through enrollment in educational programs in site-based or distance educational modes, through pre-service or in-service training including continuing education programs, whereby a registration and credential system shall be developed in the ECCD System. (d) ECCD Management - which focuses on a continuing process of planning, implementation, supervision, financial management, monitoring, evaluation and reporting. It shall encourage the active involvement and build the capabilities of service providers, parents, and local government officials to sustain the program, and it shall be guided by the principles of decentralization as stipulated in the Local Government Code of 1991. (e) Quality Standards and Accreditation - which ensures that each component in the ECCD System complies with national quality standards, to be established by the National ECCD Coordinating Council as provided for under Section 8 of this Act, linked to an accreditation process. Sec. 6. Establishment of ECCD System. - The National ECCD System shall be established in at least three (3) regions each year, as may be determined by the National ECCD Coordinating Council, to achieve national coverage over a five-year period. Sec. 7. Implementing Arrangements and Operational Structures. - The implementation of the National ECCD System shall be the joint responsibility of the national government agencies, local government units, non-government organizations, and private organizations that are accredited to deliver the services or to provide training and technical assistance.
(2)
Public
and
private pre-schools shall be registered by the Provincial or City ECCD
Coordinating Committee upon the recommendation of the respective
division
office of the DECS. NGO-initiated, community, church, home, and
workplace-based
service providers shall be registered upon the recommendation of the
provincial/city
social welfare and development office. These public and private ECCD
service
providers shall operate within the standards set forth in the National
ECCD System and under the guidance of the City/Municipal ECCD
Coordinating
Committee for the effective delivery of ECCD services.
(2) Supporting the organization of parent cooperatives to initiate the establishment of ECCD programs; (3) Ensuring that service providers of public ECCD programs under their supervision shall be justly compensated, that adequate funds are made available, and their working conditions are conducive to fulfill national quality standards; and (4)
Providing
counterpart funds for the training and continuing education of ECCD
service
providers, and supporting the operations of Provincial, City/Municipal
and Barangay ECCD Coordinating Committees.
(2) Council Secretariat. - The CWC Secretariat shall also serve as the secretariat of the Council. It shall be headed by an executive director, who shall be appointed by the President, upon the recommendation of the Council. He/She shall have the rank, privileges, and emoluments of a Career Executive Service Officer I. Nothing herein shall prejudice any right vested prior to the enactment of this Act. There shall be created two (2) permanent positions of Deputy Executive Directors to be appointed by the Council, one of whom shall be exclusively concerned with ECCD programs and activities and the other exclusively with the existing functions of the CWC. The Deputy Executive Directors shall be assisted by senior technical staff to be seconded from the DSWD, DECS, DOH, DILG, DOLE, DA, DOJ, NEDA and NNC for a period of at least two (2) years, subject to renewal, and shall be entitled to whatever additional remuneration the law allows for such secondment. (3) Functions
of the National ECCD Coordinating Council. - The Council shall:
(ii) Establish ECCD program standards that reflect developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant practices for ECCD programs, which shall interface with the primary school curriculum of the DECS; (iii) Develop a national system for the recruitment, registration, continuing education and equivalency, and credential system of ECCD service providers, supervisors and administrators to improve and professionalize the ECCD sector and upgrade quality standards of public and private ECCD programs; (iv) Develop and implement a system of awards and recognition to deserving ECCD program implementors and service providers; (v) Coordinate the various ECCD programs of each line agency and monitor the delivery of services to the ECCD program beneficiaries nationwide; (vi) Evaluate and assess the impact and outcome of various ECCD programs nationwide through an effective information system; (vii) Develop and establish a national system for early identification, screening, surveillance of early childhood disabilities, developmental problems, and giftedness; (viii) Develop and implement various support mechanisms that maximize the public and private resources for implementing ECCD programs, giving priority to the needy and high risk children from poor communities; (ix) Provide counterpart funds to poor and disadvantaged communities for the establishment and expansion of public ECCD programs, improvement of physical facilities and for hiring of ECCD service providers; (x) Promote and encourage private sector initiative for the establishment of ECCD programs; and (xii)
Provide
guidelines for ECCD Coordinating Committees at the provincial, city/
municipal
and barangay levels for the conduct of solicitations and requests for
assistance
from local and international civic organizations, private philanthropic
foundations to supplement available resources.
(2) Functions. - The Provincial ECCD Coordinating Committee shall be under the Provincial Development Council and shall perform similar functions as the National ECCD Coordinating Council as appropriate, including other functions that may be provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations of this Act. It shall coordinate the delivery of services and support from the National ECCD Coordinating Council and the national line agencies involved in ECCD programs. It shall also support and complement the resources available to municipalities and barangays in the province in the expansion and improvement of ECCD programs, as well as be responsible for the registration of ECCD programs and service providers; and (3) Secretariat.
- The Provincial ECCD Coordinating Committee shall organize a
secretariat
which shall coordinate and monitor the effective implementation of ECCD
programs in the province. It shall be headed by the provincial ECCD
Officer,
who shall be appointed by the Governor, upon the recommendation of the
Provincial ECCD Coordinating Committee. He/She skill have the rank,
privileges
and emoluments of a Department head.
(c) City/Municipal
ECCD Coordinating Committee; Composition, Functions, Secretariat.
-There
shall be created in every city and municipality a City/Municipal ECCD
Coordinating
Committee.
(2) Functions. - The City/Municipal ECCD Coordinating Committee shall be under the city/municipal development council and shall perform similar functions as the council as appropriate, including other functions that may be provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations. It shall likewise support and complement the resources available to barangays in the expansion and improvement of ECCD programs, coordinate and monitor the delivery of services at the barangay level, ensure accurate reporting and documentation of service delivery, as well as mobilize and encourage private sector initiatives for the establishment of ECCD program implementors in tile city/municipality that conforms to National ECCD System Standards. (3) Secretariat.
- The City/Municipal ECCD Coordinating Committee shall
organize a
Secretariat
which shall coordinate and monitor the effective implementation of ECCD
programs in the city/municipality. It shall be headed by the
City/Municipal
ECCD Officer, who shall be appointed by the mayor, upon the
recommendation
of the City/Municipal ECCD Coordinating Committee.
The BCPC shall be composed of, among others: the Barangay Captain, the school head/s in the barangay, the Barangay health midwife, the Barangay health worker, the Barangay nutrition scholar, the day care worker/s, parents, the Sangguniang Kabataan Chairman, and a representative from child-focused non government organizations/people's organizations, as members. The members of the BCPC shall elect from among themselves the Chairperson.
Primary health care programs, pre-natal and post-natal care, growth, monitoring and promotion, and supplementary nutrition programs shall continue to be funded through the LGUs with technical support and additional resources from the DOH. The Day Care Program, Parent Effectiveness Service, Child-Minding Centers, Family Day Care and Parent-Child Development Programs shall continue to be supported by the LGUs in the form of construction of basic infrastructure, provision of facilities, materials and equipment, and compensation for the service providers. The DSWD shall provide for technical assistance. The kindergarten program in public schools shall continue to be supported by the DECS in cooperation with the PTCAs, where applicable, by providing teacher training, supplementary learning materials and reference materials for ECCD programs. The DSWD, DECS, DOH, and DILG shall support the implementation by LGUs of the National ECCD Program and shall include in their respective annual general appropriations beginning the fiscal year following the approval of this Act the necessary funding to achieve the goal of national coverage within a five-year period and sustain the Program from thereon. The work and financial plan of the DSWD, DECS, DOH, and DILG shall be coordinated with the Council. (b) Support for ECCD Programs. - Supported for ECCD programs can be solicited from local and international civic organizations, private philanthropic foundations to supplement available resources. Workplace-based or related ECCD programs should be supported by corporations and employers in the form of physical facilities and recurrent operating costs. The operating cost incurred for employer or corporate-sponsored ECCD programs can be deducted from taxable income: Provided, That the employer or corporation will not charge user fees. (c) Costs to be Shouldered by Families. - The Council shall monitor user fees and contributions allowed for both public and private programs to ensure that these are affordable and within reasonable limits. User fees for public programs should be limited to monthly contributions intended to subsidize recurrent costs. Parents are encouraged to contribute their time and services especially in cases where they are unable to afford the regular contributions. Sec. 10. Appropriations. - For the implementation of this Act, the amount of Four hundred million pesos (P400,000,000.00) per year for five (5) years is hereby appropriated for the National ECCD Program of the council effective upon approval of this Act. Said amount shall be funded from the gross income of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation and shall be directly remitted in four (4) quarterly installments to a special account of the Council. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the operations of the Council shall be included in the General Appropriations Act. A supplementary appropriations in the amount of Thirty million pesos (P30,000,000.00) shall be provided to the Council from the President's Organizational Adjustment Fund upon approval of this Act. The above appropriations shall be separate and distinct from the annual budget of the CWC. Expenses for ECCD programs and technical support packages provided by the DSWD, DECS, DOH, DILG, DOLE, DA, DOJ, NEDA, and the NNC shall be specified as separate line items in their respective annual budgets in the General Appropriations Act. Their annual ECCD workplans shall be the basis for these budgets and shall be released directly to their regional or provincial offices whenever applicable. Sec. 11. Annual Report. - The Council shall, at the close of each calendar year, submit an annual report to Congress, giving detailed account of its proceedings and accomplishments during the year making recommendations for the adoption of measures that will improve the National ECCD System. Sec. 12. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other provisions thereof. Sec. 13. Repealing Clause. - Pertinent provisions of Presidential Decree No. 603 and Executive Order No. 233, all laws, Decrees, executive orders, presidential proclamations, rules and regulations or parts thereof contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. Sec. 14. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Council in consultation with all appropriate government agencies and non-government organizations shall formulate and issue the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of this Act within ninety (90) days after the effectivity of this Act. Sec. 15. Effectivity
Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication
in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of
general
circulation.
Approved: December 05, 2000. |