One of the biggest donors in the Education Sector, who requested anonymity, once said, “A Grade 3 student from Ateneo speaks and writes better English than a fourth-year high school student from Surigao City. That’s how big the gap is. Poor students (70%) get poor-quality education, while the middle class (25%) and the rich (5%) get the best. We need to move mountains and bridge this social gap.”
eastwind journals
September 14, 2024 – Archives tr554
By Bernie V. Lopez, eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com
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Private schools, branded as ‘educators of the elite’, have tuitions poor students cannot afford. But elitism in education is not the culprit, and is per se not an evil. They have a key role in producing the future leaders of the nation.
What is evil is our failure to give to those who cannot afford a good education. They have an inherent right to good education. Thus, education is a tool of oppression, not emancipation, by denying to many and giving to a few quality education. Opportunities are lop-sided.
Universities have their scholarship programs for the poor but they spend millions for just a dozen scholars. We cannot blame them for this ‘systemic’ problem imbedded in education financing.
The OFWs have somehow bridged the gap. They send their children to good expensive school. Farmers sell their three carabaos for tuition money. So, construction workers and farmers here are eventually supported by their children who become managers and professionals.
The root cause is perhaps uncontrolled tuition increases, even among private schools, in spite of government control. You cannot blame them. They need more classrooms, facilities, and equipment, whose cost keep increasing, as the student population explodes. But this goal of better facilities is abused. Air-conditioned classrooms became a big issue when parents complained of higher tuition.
Even U.P. Diliman, which used to offer cheap good quality education, which could compete with Ateneo and La Salle, suddenly increased tuition dramatically a few years ago. The government subsidy was no longer enough. A middle-class student paying 12k per semester is suddenly paying 18k, which is still not bad, as Ateneo and La Salle were in the vicinity of 50k per semester at that time. These figures have more than doubled today.
An Iranian diplomat said there were about 6,000 Iranian students in Philippine Universities a few years ago, which dwindled to about 500 due to spiraling tuition rates. He said that the Philippines now has one of the highest tuition rates in the whole of Asia. The Philippines used to offer good cheap education that attracted foreigners, but not anymore. The Jews of New York used to send their kids to our premier medical schools, like UST, UE, and UP, which could compete with US medical schools in terms of quality, even considering less quality equipment.
For the public schools, the situation is even more grim. Classrooms are forever lacking, and facilities inadequate. Yet DECS-CHED has the largest budget among all the departments with the AFP in second place.
When La Salle Taft had a financial crisis years ago, they turned to the wealthy alumni for help, who infused millions. But they took over. The Brothers who had the education mission became less influential than the entrepreneurs who had the business sense to keep the school afloat. The financial became the survival priority. In order to be relevant to society, there must be a balance between the mission and business aspect of education. The story of La Salle is true for many Universities nationwide today, looking for ‘rescuers’ and relinquishing quality to stay afloat.
Due to the financial requirements of education, the Taipans and the tycoons who had money to spare went into education, buying up failing schools or putting up new ones. This is good but only if business allows educators with the sense of mission more free hand.
In a global survey in 2021, UP ranked 68, Ateneo de Manila 135, La Salle Taft 166, UST 186, and University of San Carlos 451. (Source CHED.) But this does not mean UP is ‘better’ than Ateneo. The parameters used for ranking can be questionable. For example, University of Singapore, which was in the top in Asia at one time, commissioned the Ateneo, with much lower rank, to improve their English curricula. Education is a complex endeavor and must balance finance and course content.
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More Inspirational Articles – eastwindjournals.com.
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1) Father Fernando Suarez – www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UP3LHBgtIc.
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Download free e-book ‘Healing Stories of Sr. Raquel’ at eastwindjournals.com/2021/08/13/healing-stories-of-sr-raquel-e-book-free-download/).
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Author’s Credentials. Blogger – ex-Columnist (Inquirer) – Healing Ministry – ex-Professor (Ateneo University) – Documentary Producer-Director (freelance, ex-ABS-CBN, ex-TVS Tokyo) – ex-Broadcaster (Radio Veritas) – Facebook “Bernie V. Lopez Eastwind” / Pages “Eastwind Journeys and Journals” and “Mary Queen of Peace”.
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