Making education count

"Education is a great equalizer." Filipinos believe in this statement.

Regardless of age, the gates of education are open to all. Ask 75-year-old Felicidad Hilado-Casingal of Bacolod City who enrolled as a college freshman this semester.

Regardless of economic status, education is free for all. Filipino Efren Peñaflorida, honored as CNN's Hero for 2009, believed so and shared what he could to encourage street gangs to love learning, through his own version of pushcart education among the poor. The more he pushed for education for more youth, the world widened for many more.

Ask the parents of Kristel Tejada, the University of the Philippines student who worked her way up as a scholar to reach her dream to lift her family beyond Tondo by finishing a degree. Sadly, she is no longer around to talk about how she strongly, passionately felt about the liberating power of education.

There are still those who can vouch for education's equalizing and liberating power. Former chief justice Hilario Davide Jr. walked hours to go to school and beyond that, to the summit of justice and his dreams.

When our young eagerly flock to their schools, they bring with them the hope and dreams of their families that each step they take and complete will allow their lives and futures far better than their present.

Our overseas Filipinos can confirm how they bear the pain of separation for years so their children can graduate from college and have a better start for themselves.

So when our young end their summer and head for school, let us remember how much education is valued within millions of our families. Let us honor their dreams, their enthusiasm to learn and broaden their world and their lives by providing them with the supportive, protective environment that we can best give them.

They eagerly start their first day of school but they realize their school is not ready. There are more students than classrooms. Or their classrooms are flooded. Their classrooms, if they have any, are almost bare, without adequate equipments and learning materials. There are not enough books, they are made to pay for their own projects or else they face the penalty of not passing their subjects and their year level.

Students in disaster-affected communities look forward to being with their friends, their classmates, in another environment, far away from where their homes were destroyed or where dear family members perished. They, however, find their schools not ready to receive them. There are still thousands of students in such areas with classrooms not yet fully repaired. Many are staying in make shift classrooms that are too hot during sunny days or too wet during rainy days.

Can we not honor these students by preparing ahead comfortable and protective schools and classrooms?      

How can government help millions of students and families attain their dream of completing their education?

The teachers fully understand and have continued to support the dreams of their students. The teachers themselves have children they have given wings to fly where their dreams will take them. Despite continuing low salaries and the absence of state support for them, teachers have proceeded to nurture the desire of the young to widen their world.

Don't our teachers deserve the best financial and other non-material support from government and us all for their selfless and generous time and attention and care of our students? Shall we not join their demand for wage hikes? Shall we not demand as well the freeze of bonuses and perks and decrease on the wages of those in the GOCCs and transfer their undeserved budget to our more deserving teachers and other hard-working, honest employees and laborers instead?

Also, cannot the private schools share their resources and classrooms with the poor students in their neighborhood? Cannot the religious and private businesses that own these schools not walk their talk about equality and love and share what they have with their needy neighbors?

So much can be done to honor those who believe in education, those who dream to have better lives than now.

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