An education system in crisis

THIS WRITER, still in his first decade as a senior citizen, has not forgotten the way it used to be in public schools. We six siblings spent elementary to secondary levels in public schools so that our parents could stash away money for our education in private colleges later.

In our time, public education provided equal opportunities for children of the rich and the poor alike. In the 1950s, all public elementary and high school students were supplied with textbooks which we would return at the end of the school year and be relent to the next batch in the next school year.

Today, with more or less 30 million students enrolled in the country’s public schools, the government has not coped with increasing demand for classrooms – no thanks to the implementation of the unnecessary K-12 program adding two years in the secondary curriculum.

The poor parents always think of public education for their children within the context of poverty alleviation. The more and better educated a people, the greater their chances of “graduating” from the bondage of misery.

However, education in public schools has declined in quality because the country is simply not investing enough in the education system; and the education establishment has been poorly managed.
The rural areas and the countryside – where some public schools have teacher-to-pupil ratio of 1:50 – are the worst affected areas of the deteriorating quality of public education in the Philippines.

The rich have a variety of choices offered by the private educational institutions with modern school facilities, while the poor make do with public education characterized by dilapidated school facilities, lack of textbooks and technological incompetence.

The government has therefore failed in its mission to bring quality education directly to the poorest people in the country, denying their children access to quality education.

While most elementary and secondary students attend public schools due to free tuition, it’s not the case in tertiary state colleges and universities (SUCs), where only scholars enjoy free tuition.  As these lines were being written, however, “free SUC education” bills have been filed in Congress.

According to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), only 35 per cent of the tertiary population are enrolled in SUCs. But it’s no good news for the private schools because there has been a gradual exodus of college students from private to government schools over the last two decades.

The most visible reason for such an exodus is the continuing tuition hikes in private colleges and universities that force students to either drop out or to transfer to cheaper state institutions. Incidentally, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has reported a measly 22 percent overall student survival in the Philippines from 1st to 4th year college.

Unfortunately, state schools do not readily absorb transferees due to their limited enrolment quotas. Moreover, educational expenditures in state schools and universities have made them also inaccessible to ordinary students. Worse, the SUCs are also disappearing. From 271 in 1996, their number has diminished to only 173.

Ironically, in search of greener pastures, graduates of either private or public schools tend to work abroad. The K-12 program – which saddles the poor parents with added but unnecessary expenses and delays entry of students to college – is touted by the government as a “global trend” aimed at giving college graduates better chances to work abroad. How ironic in a country which already suffers from “brain drain”! (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)