On Philippine Public Education
Under Article 14, Section 2, Paragraph 4 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, "The state shall, establish and maintain a system of free public education in the elementary and high school levels. Without limiting the natural right of parents to rear their children, elementary education is compulsory for all children of school age."
We basically hear of the problems of the Department of Education almost every June about how we lack classrooms and teachers and even materials for free education. The Constitution even states that the budget for education should be the highest every year. Meaning most of our taxes goes to education funds that is supposed to plant the seeds of our future.
But is all the fuss about free education worth it?
I recognize the need for education and I myself is a fruit of a public elementary school, public high school and a local government owned university. I also believe that education is the key for this country's progress.
I would not question the government's effort to provide free basic education to our young people. It may not be perfect but at least we are working. We are investing.
I would like to question the people we are investing with. Our youth.
Are they really worth investing? Are they really worth spending billions of pesos every year?
One of the most favorite topic of documentaries is the struggle of children living in our rural areas before and after going to schools. There are those who literally have to cross rivers, hike mountains, and walk a lot of kilometers just to attend their classes. There is one story where a boy's grandfather has to make a sort of a zip line so the boy would not swim across a river. There are stories of these children who died while going to school.
After a tiring day, most of these students will work to help feed their families. Then they will study their lessons under the light of a gasera.
These stories may touch our hearts. We might say that it is really worth investing for our education. But that's not the whole picture.
Here in the city, where access to basic education is not as dramatic as those in the rural areas, there is a very different story. In fact the NCR has low percentage in the National Achievement Test.
There are a lot of schools in the NCR. In district 1 of the City of Manila alone, there are four public high schools. I know this may not be enough for the population density of our place. But considering our circumstances, we should have performed better.
Let's not talk about the problems of schools, facilities and teachers. let's talk about the students.
One popular saying instilled in my mind by high school teachers is that "If there's a will, there's a way."
Let me give you a true story.
I have two cousins who are in high school by now. And I may say they are not worth investing.
One of them spends about 12 hours a day playing computer games. Non-stop. They own a three unit computer shop in the front of our house and he always uses one of the three. There are times when he would even open their shop at eight in the morning and play until all of us in the house force him to close the shop -at 10 in the evening. He would even miss his classes for the sake of playing. And I can't remember if he even completed a week attending school.
My other cousin is a little bit different. He does not play for that long. That's because he don't have the money. Sometimes, he will pick loose coins all around the house and use his baon for playing. Worse, he would miss his class because he want to. Every morning, we are pushed out of our beds by his mother's voice urging him to go to school.
I am really shocked by what they are doing. When I am in high school, free times are scarce. My class is from seven in the morning until about three to five in the afternoon. After class, I'm always busy doing my assignments cause I have tons of them.
My cousins? I never saw them open their notebooks at home.
That's the problem of free education.
Because it is free, same people doesn't give any importance to it. They don't treasure it. For them, it is a luggage not a privilege.
Maybe, we should devise a system of knowing who to give total access to free education at all. Make our people strive for that education, not giving it to them readily.
I know everyone needs education and the government should take care of its people. But with all the problems we are experiencing in our public education system and considering our country is not a wealthy one, let's invest to those who are worth it.
