July 17, 2001   *   vol. 1 (3)

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vol. 1 (3)   *   July 17, 2001

     "Education is true gold". Sadly, not in the kind of classroom education that we have for the past decades. Problems like dearth of quality teachers or proliferation of mediocre ones, over crowded classrooms, inadequate standard books, and scarcity of other facilities for learning bequeath us with ill prepared students to the cutthroat world.     
     Parents send their children to school wishing that "diploma" would give them a better future, or to elevate the family from a seemingly hopeless condition of poverty. However, consider these facts: For every 100 Filipinos who enter grade 1, only 60 percent make it to grade 6, and drop out statistics become bigger in secondary school. About 33 out of every 100 will drop out due to poverty. Between grades 5 and 6, most students learn little. One out of every four (24.9%) among graduates from schools that cater to masses is unemployed; as against only one out of every 10 (9.1%) graduates of affluent schools lack a job.   
     The quality of our education has deteriorated over the years, and this can't be ignored. We have swelling ranks of jobless who never passed functional literacy, or professionals who have been shoddily equipped with the needed skills to be competitive in the global workplace. Blame it to the "automatic progression" system, which is prevalent in public elementary schools, which are supposed to be breeding grounds for brainworkers. Impugn it to the proliferation of so called "diploma mills", or to the fly-by-night schools whose graduates show low percentage of passing the boards. There are very few private schools, hardly affordable though, and even fewer state-run institutions which can keep up with international standards. Attribute it to our lawmakers for failing to create educational

amendments, and how to compensate the teachers better. Teaching as a profession now fails to attract the brightest and best due to the enormous demands of the job, and its meager pay.
     Reforms must transcend our system of education. As a club with a mission we can look on how to better lure, and produce excellent mentors, as this is the simplest change we can offer to do. Let us help elevate their sense of self-worth and social prestige by honoring them accordingly. We can also sponsor deserving and competent teachers to further academic honing, or initiate worthy workshops and teacher-training programs to improve their skills and ability to impart. Hopefully, we can jolt educators out of complacency to give our children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren the value of education.