Despair in the public school system

The paramount importance of education can never be overlooked by anyone who holds close to his heart the welfare of our people and the future of our country.

This is the dawn of a new day when the new President is given a chance to prove his will in an important sector of government — education.

The public school system today is in shambles. Perennial problems such as shortage of teachers, insufficient classrooms, lack of materials and supplies, dilapidated and dirty school environments, teachers’ wages/compensations, abrupt changes in curriculum planning, poor quality of teacher training programs, absence of supervision and monitoring, even corruption within the department seem to be the only things consistent in the program. To make matters worst, our leaders have a tendency to change the systems that are already in place. They want to create reforms (many of which are mediocre and have not been tested) which all add up to the deterioration of the system.

I have witnessed four presidents (from the time of Cory Aquino) who have shown concern on our educational system but in reality have not really dug into the root cause of the problems that encompass the public education system of this country. One way to measure the priorities of a government is to examine its budget. Obviously, the bigger the funds allotted for a certain branch of government, the higher its place in the list of priorities. When the Aguinaldo government was at war, the military got a big share of the budget. It was the Malolos Congress which made remarkable provisions for education despite the situation. Today, education is given 3 percent of the total budget for the year making us way behind Singapore with 20 percent of the budget and even India whose basic education budget jumped by 36.5 percent and 38.2 percent for higher education.

We are living in an age characterized by violent conflicts among opposing political, economic and moral forces. When we analyze these and trace them to their causes, we are confronted by the startling discovery that these tremendous conflicts, this earth-shaking struggle, were in their origins essentially of an educational nature. Our fate as a nation is determined not on the battlefield but in the classrooms, for the former are nothing but an aftermath, a projection, of the latter.

I think if a President wants to get something done, he must hold the reign gently but firmly for everyone to stay on the right path. The education sector in this country needs major changes – in the systems and outlook. The president like the captain of a ship should lead the way. It is not enough for him to just appoint somebody to run an office and leave him on his own. He should lead the discussions on how to solve the issues and concerns of the particular office. Together with his team, he should be able to draw a road map that will serve as a guide to reach the common goal.

DepEd is the biggest bureaucracy. It still has not proven itself to the nation. It’s about time the new government cleans up by putting new systems and controls – simply following the old adage, “ring out the old and bring in the new”.

Of course there are dedicated and hardworking public school teachers and DepEd officials – but they appear to be the exception rather than the rule. Many are either mediocre or worse corrupt, always longing for personal gain (politicking) rather than service to the country. Everything, alas, that is touched by politics turn to dross. And when the teachers of a nation lose their pride and their professionalism, then that nation can only falter. Sad to say, this is true of our educational system.

Education is necessarily bound up with the life of the nation. It helps the government to carry on that vital work of giving the right kind of training to our growing generations, an education that will serve as the foundation of our national life, the first step of our national defense, and the guarantee of enduring prosperity and the future greatness of our country.

Where have we gone wrong? Until and unless our leaders restore a sense of commitment to our countrymen, and we demand that their capabilities are relevant to our times and the inexorable scientific and technological pace of the modern world, we will sink into backwardness, ignorance, illiteracy and mindless poverty – from which there is neither redemption nor prospect for tomorrow.

* * * –Sara Soliven De Guzman (The Philippine Star)