The Tragedy of Philippine Education

(Photo taken during a provincial youth consultation May 30, 2009)

(Privilege Speech of Kabataan Party-list Rep. Mong Palatino June 7, 2009)
reposted from www.tinig.com

Mr. Speaker, distinguished colleagues:

As I speak today, preparations and enrolment for the coming school year are already in progress. The Department of Education once again adopted a “business-as-usual” attitude in explaining preparations for the school opening. DepEd claims the government is prepared for the school opening but the dismal state of classrooms and facilities and the severe shortage of teachers in public elementary and high schools nationwide say otherwise.

Days from now, we expect the Commission on Higher Education to do the same routine of back-to-school lip service to cover up for its negligence and apparent gross failure to regulate unabated school fee hikes and its conspiracy with some school owners.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of fellow young Filipinos who are being robbed of their right to education and their future.

When classes open in June, many school-age children and youth will not be in school.

I am alarmed over the sharp decline in the preliminary enrolment figures for the current school year. This highlights the huge disparity between the increasing cost of education in the country and the financial capacity of Filipino families to send their children to school.

A study of the Department of Education shows that 96.77 percent of elementary school-age children go to school while 66.06 percent of high school-age teenagers go to secondary school.

But the same report reveals that for every 100 students who enroll in the 1st grade, 33 drop out before reaching Grade 5 and 31 out of 100 high school freshmen drop out before reaching their senior year. The trend for the past ten years show that for every 10 pupils who enroll in grade school, only 7 graduate.

Government statistics show that for the past years there was a steady increase in total school enrollment. True. But there were also an increasing proportion of elementary school-age children who remained out of school, based on the most recent Philippine assessment report on the Millennium Development Goals.

In school year 2005-2006, almost 65 percent of six-year old children did not begin their primary education on time. The cohort survival rate was placed at 76 percent in 2001 but it went down to 70 percent in 2006. The completion rate was 75 percent in 2001 but it also went down to 68 percent in the same period. The drop-out rate and repetition rate also deteriorated in the same report.

Students drop out because of poverty. While basic education is free, many poor families are unable to finance the auxiliary school needs of their children, which, according to our computation would cost around P15,000 to P20,000 per student.

Mr. Speaker, saan naman kukuhanin ng ating mga estudyante at kanilang mga magulang ang halagang ito gayong wala na halos makain sa pang-araw-araw? (ang kasunod...)