Education in Guerrilla Territory Under a Regime of Enemy Occupation

The Fate of Education in a land brought under enemy occupation is a matter of perennial interest. Here, we shall concern ourselves with the educational policies of the resistance leaders on the Island of Leyte, the Philippines, during World War II. A brief prefatory statement regarding the military situation at that time is in order. The Japanese assault upon the Philippines was launched concomitantly with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Leyte fell to the invader in May of 1942. The Japanese immediately proceeded to set up a puppet provincial government and subjected the municipalities to its control. One of the conqueror's prime objectives was the restoration of stability, so that full integration into the New Imperial Order could be accomplished. To this end, the Japanese command early sponsored reopening of the schools–albeit, with curricular changes conformable to imperial aims.