School enrollments dropping

Information is now surfacing that enrollments in private and public schools have dropped alarmingly this year. In addition to nationwide shortages of teachers and shortages of classrooms, parents are now also experiencing shortages of funds.

Many school-age youth have transferred to "cheaper" private schools, moved from private to public schools, or are skipping school altogether. Pay envelopes simply can’t keep up with tuition fees, even as adjusted only for "inflation,", or other higher fees.

You’ve probably noticed the news reports on the growing number of out-of-school youth. Some of them who are high school graduates will try to seek work abroad, or will try to find any job, even one derided as "menial." During hard times, with the cost of virtually everything going up, every little bit helps. Family needs, especially in urban areas, are unrelenting and unforgiving.

Families are facing wrenching decisions of choosing who among children can remain in school. Those who cannot afford private schools are sending children to public schools. That in turn swells the ranks of students in the latter institutions at a time when their own facilities are not only stretched but non-existent. It’s a bad situation all around, and the end is nowhere in sight.

It’s also happening at the worst possible time. The word is spreading internationally that the "edge" of Filipinos in literacy level in Asia is fast narrowing. Although our theoretical literacy level is still in the high 90’s nationwide, that of other countries in the Southeast Asian region is higher and, in some areas, is now hitting 100 percent. Even in the English language, in which China has implemented crash courses in most of its institutions of learning, the country is losing advantages it enjoyed for decades. In science and math, our students routinely score among the lowest in the world.

We do have our bright spots, of course. Once in a while, some of our best and brightest in math emerge victorious in international competitions. And we do regularly trounce the competition in debate, which is not too surprising. Considering our national obsession for endless debate, some of that talent will inevitably rub off on our youth.

The problem, as every one knows, is not limited to the poor quality of our graduates, with the possible exception of our doctors and nurses who continue to find lucrative employment abroad. The problem also has to do with the quantity and quality of our teachers, particularly in our public schools.

We apparently have a shortage of about 50,000 public school teachers. Worse, those that we have, reportedly have poor passing rates in their respective professional examinations. Thus, public schools, the best of which used to rank alongside private schools, either lack teachers or must muddle through with the marginally qualified.

This country has always claimed to accord education the highest priority. But, in reality, we have given only lip service to the primacy of education. Lately, our government has given greater attention to the servicing of foreign debt and meeting compulsory requirements for salaries of public sector workers, and maintenance or other operational costs of government.

The Constitution itself, in the oft-quoted Article XIV, Section 5(5), has this stern mandate kuno: "The State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment."

However, even the Supreme Court has said that when the Constitution refers to education having the "highest budgetary priority," it doesn’t really mean that, and the government may still "respond to the imperatives of national interest…" Basically, that meant that the government could give higher priority to the payment of the national debt, to prevent a bigger and arguably more far-reaching crisis for the national economy.

While the High Court’s reasoning is, as usual, understandable, it is consuelo de bobo for teachers who have had to suffer through demeaning wage levels. Oh sure, when elections come around every three years or so, the politicians suddenly turn benevolent and manage to throw our teachers a few table scraps by way of per diems for serving in the front-lines of the electoral process.

But, generally, while teachers can recite by heart the Constitutional injunction that the State must ensure "that teaching will attract and retain the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment," they do so with tears streaming down their faces at the irony and cruelty of that provision.

In fact, the best talent in the teaching profession is now in private schools, not because the compensation is great – those in academe know all about this – but because of a commitment they make very early in their careers. Talk about real heroes! There are naturally a few exceptions, and I have known some public school teachers who wouldn’t hold up a candle to their brethren in private schools.

But a crisis is building in our schools because our best teachers, particularly in primary and secondary levels, in both public and private schools, are now being recruited for positions abroad. Although salary levels are lower than those paid local teachers, say in America, our teachers are leaving in droves because of the prospect of decent lives in other countries and the relaxation of immigration rules involving family members.

It’s been correctly noted that responsibility should be placed squarely at the doorstep of government. GMA has a unique opportunity to be different from her predecessors who rationalized that the Education Department still had the biggest budget among the departments of government, and that teachers’ salaries had been going up over the years.

But we’re not talking quantity here but quality, not numbers but results. No matter how you cut it, less and less people are going to school. While the Constitution piously proclaims FREE elementary and high school education, we don’t have the classrooms and teachers to do a half-way decent job. Those teachers that continue to soldier on have grown hoarse in the throat imploring government to improve their lot.

It’s time education be given the highest priority. Say what you will about our American colonial masters, they at least left us a legacy of a good school system which was the envy of many of our neighbors. The squandering by successive governments of that legacy is a crime which ranks right up there with the worst of impeachable offenses. It’s time the people held our leaders to account for their neglect. The first place we should look is the pork barrel of legislative and executive officials. Let’s start with that.