Restless mass of unskilled out-of-school youth

Ronald barely finished his first year in high school three years ago. Today, he is a tambay, too young to be the neighborhood’s siga, but most likely on his way to becoming one. While still reverent to the older tambays, he is building his own following of younger kids, many also school drop-outs.

This is a familiar scene in many of the metropolis’ urban poor settlements. After graduating from grade school, many teenage boys and girls are unable to stay in the secondary levels either because there is no money or they simply have lost interest in schooling.

Parents still dream of seeing their children graduate from high school, perhaps even of getting a vocational diploma if a college education is unaffordable. But because there is just enough money for basic subsistence, i.e., food and shelter, education is quickly relegated to the backburner of priorities.

As such, we are seeing the ranks of high school drop-outs swelling. An informal count has placed this at about 12 million or about 13 percent of the country’s population. They are and will become a burden to the nation as they grow old without the necessary skills or aptitude to be productive.

Ironically, a government program that is focused on building one elementary school in every barangay is contributing to this problem. When children finish their primary levels, there are not enough public high schools that will take them in.

Lack of foresight

And even if secondary education is free, finding a school that will accept them becomes a big problem. And we’re not even tackling the issues of deteriorating educational standards or the school “fees” being asked for necessary expenses in maintaining the school but otherwise not covered by the appropriated budget.

One teacher in his blog had lamented about the need for secondary schools to ask for “donations” from understandably irate parents to pay for the salaries of security guards and utility workers to maintain order and cleanliness in the school premises.

Apparently, the government’s budget for high schools does not cover for such essential costs. Likewise, there may be funds for school supplies and equipment, but there is no budget for a school paper, something that is necessary in the education of our young adults.

Perhaps our lawmakers could review and amend the law that had so generously provided for free secondary education by way of waived tuition fees but have conveniently forgot to appropriate for the cost of properly maintaining the schools’ operations.

Skills education

More than the day-to-day operational problems, there is a need for more public high schools, even vocational training institutions, to provide for truly free secondary education for the growing number of grade school graduates.

Given the economic profile of most Filipino families, as well as the budgetary constraints of government, it makes sense to support the growth of more public technical schools that will provide for immediate employable skills.

Six-month or one-year courses in plumbing, carpentry, machine welding, motor shop, and other similar skills would be greatly appreciated by those who want to find work but are unable to because they do not have the requisite minimum educational attainment.

There is a dearth of skilled workers in the country who can really claim qualified levels of mastery. Often, we have people who call themselves plumbers and carpenters without having the necessary know-how and accreditation, and who end up bungling work or rendering unacceptable levels of service.

There are even cases of foreign contractors rejecting Filipino workers who had been accepted for jobs abroad because of inadequate skills. Sometimes, instead of sending these workers home, they get retained but at a lower salary to match their actual level of competence.

Ladderized learning

If government will find it difficult to put up more vocational schools, then it should encourage the private sector to invest in technical schools. Some form of incentive system should be set up so that the tuition fees charged are affordable but without compromising on the quality of training.

Our vocational educational system is in a mess. There are so many fly-by-night technical schools that offer classes and corresponding diplomas that eventually turn out to be worthless because the academic curriculum is often not monitored or approved.

Usually, there is no defined learning ladder that a student may follow to improve his technical knowledge and level. We seem to have a National Technical and Vocational Examination, but does anyone really know about this, much less value it?

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), on the other hand, is more focused on bridging the gap between manpower skills in the labor market with the needs of business and has less time addressing the problem of a growing unskilled out-of-youth sector.

While TESDA issues certifications to those who pass their examinations, are these really of any value?

Review needed

Technical skills and trades training, in effect, has been muddled up in the bureaucratic mesh that is characteristic in many of our government offices. Our government officials and personnel may look busy but are they really accomplishing much?

I’d like to think that as long as the number of out-of-school individuals remains at its current high levels, then our concerned government officials have not succeeded in accomplishing what they have been mandated to do. There is no other acceptable yardstick.

While we still have time, let’s review what should be done – before this mass of unemployed and unskilled pool becomes a sea of anger and discontent. –Rey Gamboa (The Philippine Star)