Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 477)
Act No. 477 repeals Acts Numbered 180, 232, and 373, which were amendatory of Act No. 74 establishing a Department of Public Instruction, and also repeals a certain paragraph in Act No. 430 relating to night schools.
The Department of Public Instruction is renamed as the Bureau of Education.
The General Superintendent of Education is appointed by the Civil Governor with the advice and consent of the Commission, with an annual salary of six thousand dollars, payable monthly.
The General Superintendent's duties include establishing primary schools in every pueblo, appointing superintendents and teachers, fixing salaries, prescribing curricula, approving school construction plans, establishing night schools, supervising the Bureau, and making annual and special reports.
No night-school class shall be maintained at public expense if the average nightly attendance is less than fifteen pupils over the age of fourteen years; if attendance falls below this for any month, the class must be discontinued.
The archipelago is divided into thirty-six school divisions, with appointed division superintendents for most divisions, except for the 33rd to 36th, where the respective governors act as division superintendents without additional compensation.
The division superintendent appoints native school-teachers within his division, fixes their salaries within provincial/municipal funds limits, examines schoolhouses for suitability and hygiene, and can discontinue schools if conditions are unsafe.
The General Superintendent is authorized to establish a force of up to one thousand trained teachers for primary schools, with salaries not exceeding $1,500 per annum. Additional teachers for secondary schools may be hired at salaries up to $1,800 per annum.
The provincial government must provide necessary room(s) for the division superintendent's office and for storing and distributing supplies. If the division covers more than one province, this must be provided by the province where the superintendent resides.
The Act was enacted on October 8, 1902, and took effect on November 1, 1902.