Kabataan Partylist

Tayo, Kabataan
Raymond V. Palatino
Kabataan Party President

Speech delivered during the thanksgiving assembly of Kabataan Partylist, June 19, 2007, C.M. Recto Hall, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila. Also posted in http://www.mongpalatino.motime.com/

Maalab na pagbati sa lahat, mga kasama sa Kabataan Partylist, mga kaibigang organisasyon at sa lahat ng mga nagtiwala at patuloy na nagtitiwala sa kakayanan ng kabataang Pilipino. Sa lahat ng naninindigan para sa pagbabago, sa inyong lahat na kinikilala bilang pag-asa ng ating bayan, magandang hapon po at mabuhay kayo.

Ginugunita natin sa araw na ito ang anibersaryo ng kapanganakan ng ating pambansang bayani, si Dr. Jose Rizal. Ipinagdiriwang din natin ang ikaanim na anibersaryo ng pagkakatatag ng Kabataan Partylist. Noong 2001, ilang indibidwal lamang ang nagtipon at nagkaisa na buuin ang isang partido pulitikal ng mga kabataan na tuwirang lalahok sa pambansang eleksiyon. Ngayon, nais kong ibalita sa inyo na malayo, malawak at masaklaw na ang inaabot ng ating partido. Libu-libong kabataan ang miyembro natin mula Luzon hanggang Mindanao. Ang ating partido ang pinakamalakas na grupo ng mga kabataan sa kasalukuyan.

Ang araw na ito ay tinakda natin para magpasalamat sa lahat ng mga tumulong at sumuporta sa Kabataan Partylist noong nakaraang halalan. Tayo ay nagtitipon para balikan ang ating mga nagawa nitong taon, tukuyin ang ating mga tagumpay at magkaisa para sa mga hamong ating tutupdin sa mga susunod na araw.

Natutuwa akong makita muli ang ating mga organisador, mga lider mula sa iba’t ibang paaralan at mga masisipag na miyembro ng Kabataan Partylist.

Kapiling natin sa araw na ito ang mga tagapagtatag na organisasyon ng ating partido….

Ngayon naman po, hinihiling ko ang ilang sandaling katahimikan para sa mga kabataang martir na biktima ng terorismo ng estado.

Bigyan natin ng pagpupugay ang mga kabataang martir, tayo po ay pumalakpak at ipakita’t iparinig natin ang ating patuloy na paglaban para sa katarungan, katotohanan at karapatan.

Resulta ng halalan

Ayon sa datos ng Comelec, apat na COCs na lamang ang di nabibilang. Ang nakuhang boto ng Kabataan ay umabot sa 225,062 o 1.51 bahagdan ng boto para sa partylist. Ibig sabihin, hindi makakaupo sa Kongreso ang Kabataan Partylist.

Para sa marami, at maaaring para din sa iba sa inyo, ito ay nangangahulugan ng pagkabigo ng kabataan. Ito ay tumpak. Pero hindi dapat ganito kapayak ang ating husga sa ating nakamit noong nakaraang eleksiyon. Huwag natin ipagkamali na ang mga numerong ito ang susuma ng ginawa nating makabuluhang ambag sa lipunan. Hindi kayang maliitin ng mga numerong ito ang matagumpay na mensahe na pinaabot ng Kabataan Partylist sa buong bansa.

Malikhaing pangangampanya

Huwag nating kalimutan ang tatlong buwang pangangampanya ng kabataan. Marumi, marahas at mabangis ang halalan pero pinatunayan natin na pwedeng mangampanya nang hindi sasandig sa guns, goons, gold, garci and gloria. Kinatangian ng pagiging malikhain, tapat, malinis, makabuluhan at disente ang kampanyang nilunsad ng Kabataan Partylist.

Si Isko, ang ating maskot ay patok na patok sa masa. Pinagkaguluhan sa mga esluwelahan at komunidad si Isko. Mas sikat pa nga siya kaysa sa amin na mga nominado.

Ang ating makulay na Kabataan Bus ay nalibot ang kalakhan ng Luzon, lalo na dito sa Metro Manila. Ito ay tinampok din sa isang TV show sa Singapore. Kahit laging nasisira, at kailangang itulak para umandar, at palaging nawawalan ng gas dahil wala tayong pera, sinuyod ng Kabataan Bus ang napakaraming lugar para itanghal ang mensahe ng kabataang Pilipino para sa pagbabago.

Sa ating mga road trip at motorcade, nagtulung-tulong ang mga kabataan para mailarga ang pangangampanya sa mga komunidad. Gumamit tayo ng jeep, tricycle, pedicab, motorsiklo at mga hiniram na mini-truck.

Nagsagawa tayo ng mga masasayang konsiyerto na dinaluhan ng maraming kabataan. Tumugtog ang mga miyembro natin pati mga kaibigang lokal na banda. May sumayaw, kumanta, tumula at mayroon ding nagwala. Nagfashion show tayo para higit na patunayan ang ating malikhaing diwa.

Tinipon natin ang mga kabataan. Nagforum sa mga eskuwelahan, Nagkonsultahang kabataan sa mga komunidad. Nag house to house, org to org, bus to bus, mall to mall, bar to bar, market to market. Higit sa lahat, nakipamuhay tayo sa masa.

Gumawa tayo ng mga awitin at jingle. Bawat rehiyon ay may kanya-kanyang pinasikat na slogan at jingle. Kahit ang mga kababayan nating Fim-Am ay lumikha ng awitin para sa Kabataan Partylist. Pwede na nga tayo maglunsad ng sarili nating album sa dami ng mga magagandang kantang ating nalikha dahil sa eleksiyon.

Napakaraming tsapter natin ang nagdisenyo ng mga T-shirt, button pins, mural at poster.

Gumawa ng mga video teaser ang mga taga suporta ng Kabataan Partylist at ito ay nilagay sa internet. Salamat sa Sipat para sa mga video ad natin. Namalas ng buong mundo ang angking kakayanan at pagkamalikhain ng kabataang Pilipino. Ginamit natin ang internet upang makatipid at maabot ang mas maraming kabataan. Kapuri-puri ang ating cybercampaign. Naging paksa tayo sa you tube, friendster, multiply, mga blog, e-forum, chat. Pinakita natin kung paano mamamaksima at magiging epektibo ang pangangampanya sa pamamagitan ng internet. Nagpakalat tayo ng mga ringtone, wallpaper at text brigade gamit ang ating mga cellphone.

Kahanga-hanga ang sipag, diskarte at determinasyon ng ating mga kampanyador. Kung ang mga pulitiko ay nagbabayad para may magdikit ng kanilang mga poster, tayo wala. Bukod sa wala tayong pambayad, ang mga miyembro natin ay kikilos, at sila nga ay kumilos kahit walang bayad. Limitado ang ating mga poster, kulang ang mga streamer at tarpaulin. Buti na lamang maparaan ang ating mga miyembro. Sinuyod ang mga matataong lugar, nagdikit ng mga campaign material sa mga stratehikong gusali.

Dahil kulang ang poster at leaflet, naghanap tayo ng ibang materyales. Gumamit ng sako, lumang tarpaulin, katya, dyaryo, uling, kalendaryo. Wala tayong stiker pero hindi tayo naubusan ng mga pin na gawa ng ating mga miyembro.

Kapos ang ating pondo. Kulang na kulang ang rekurso. Wala tayong mga sasakyan. Sa isang banda, ito ay totoong problema at nakalimita sa ating kampanya. Naputulan ang pambansang opisina ng telepono, tubig at madalas kakaunti ang pagkain ng ating mga miyembro. Mas marami sana tayong lugar na maaabot, mas maraming poster na madidikit, mas maraming brochure na maipamimigay kung sapat ang ating pera. Kaso tayo ay totoong marginalized partylist kaya isang naging pabigat sa kampanya ang kawalan ng pinansiya.

Gayunman, hindi ito naging hadlang para makapaglunsad tayo ng pambansang kampanya. Oo, tayo ay mahirap lamang, pero mayaman tayo sa talino, galing, sipag at giting. Binawi natin ang kawalan ng pondo sa pagsandig sa pagiging bibo at malikhain ng mga kabataan. Lumabas ang angking talento ng ating mga miyembro para makapagkampanya. Wala tayong binatong kendi o kalendaryo sa mga tao; programa, prinsipyo at pag-asa ang ating binahagi sa masa. Hindi ba’t ito’y tagumpay ng Kabataan Partylist?

Pambansang pangangampanya

Malakas ang ating organisasyon. Pinanday ng pakikibaka ang ating makinarya. Napatunayan natin sa eleksiyon na kaya nating maglunsad ng isang disenteng pambansang kampanya. Naging maayos ang koordinasyon sa mga tsapter sa buong bansa. Mayroon tayong miyembro sa bawat probinsiya, malalaking eskuwelahan at kahit sa mga malalayong sulok ng kanayunan.

Sa Metro Manila, aabot ng 40,000 ang ating miyembrong narekluta nitong nakaraang tatlong buwan. Karamihan ng mga bagong miyembro ay hindi lalagpas ng 20 anyos. Sa katunayan, marami tayong kasapi na hindi pa tumutuntong sa labingwalong taong gulang. Kami na ni Lengua ang pinakamatanda sa Kabataan Partylist. Gusto kong bigyan ito ng diin. Mahigit nobenta ang bilang ng mga grupong lumahok sa sistemang partylist. Natatangi ang Kabataan Partylist dahil ito ang nag-iisang partido na binuo ng mga kabataan, pinamumunuan ng mga kabataan at para sa interes ng kabataan.

Masisigla at punung-puno ng ideyalismo ang ating mga miyembro. Ito ang ating pangunahing lakas at sandigan para sa mga susunod na laban. Oo, kakambal ng kasigasigan ng kabataan ay mga kahinaang sinisisi sa mga bata. Mapusok, laging nahuhuli, kakaunting inisyatiba, sabog na pagkilos, kawalan ng karanasan. Pero tayo ay mga bata at nasa atin ang panahon para ituwid ang mga natukoy na mali. Tayo ay tatanda nang mas matalino at mas handang humarap sa mga pagsubok na hahadlang sa ating daan. Ang mga miyembro natin ay maagang pinanday sa labanang elektoral. Maaga nating natutunan ang mga pasikot-sikot ng sistemang pulitikal sa bansa. Sa hinaharap, hindi lamang magiging madali, kundi magiging eksperto pa ang ating mga miyembro kung paano magpatakbo ng isang organisasyon na lumalahok sa isang pambansang eleksiyon.

Nagawa nating itambol sa buong bansa ang mensahe ng pagbabago at makatwirang hangad ng kabataan para sa mas magandang kinabukasan. Naging bukambibig ng maraming grupo na kailangang makialam, magtanong, mangahas, sumuway at makisangkot ang kabataan. Nakuha natin ang suporta ng maraming kabataan, mayaman man o mahirap, may pinag-aralam man o wala. Sumuporta ang maraming miyembro ng SK at mga batang pulitiko. Kahit ang mga artista ay inendorso ang kabataan. Sa maikling panahon, nagawa nating ipaalam sa madla na may grupo ng mga makabayang kabataan na nais ang makabuluhang pagbabago sa lipunan.

Habang ang iba ay nagkakasya na lamang sa pagmamaliit sa inisyatiba ng kabataan, tayo ay kumilos at naghain ng kongkretong alternatibo sa publiko. Patuloy na hinahanap ang papel ng kabataan sa lipunan, pero ang Kabataan Partylist may pinatunayan ng makabuluhang rekord ng pakikisangkot sa usaping pampulitika sa bansa.

Ipinagmamalaki natin na tayo ay nahahanay sa mga progresibong partylist tulad ng Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Suara Bangsamoro at Gabriela. Ang tagumpay nila ay tagumpay din ng Kabataan Partylist. Tumaas ang tiwala ng publiko sa atin dahil kasama natin sa lansangan at pana-panahon sa pangangampanya ang mga grupong ito. Pareho nating pinaglalaban ang karapatang pantao. Pareho nating sinisigaw na itigil ang panunupil sa mga progresibong grupo sa lipunan.

Isyu ng kabataan

Sa maraming eskuwelahan, nanguna ang Kabataan Partylist sa mga pre-election survey. Hindi ito nakapagtataka dahil tuluy-tuloy ang pagbabandila ng Kabataan Partylist sa mga isyung malapit sa puso ng mga estudyante. Pangunahin sa adyeda ng Kabataan ang reporma sa sektor ng edukasyon. Tinukoy natin ang pagbagsak ng badyet para sa mga pampublikong paaralan at komersyalisasyon ng edukasyon bilang pangunahing salik sa pagbulusok ng kalidad ng karunungan sa bansa.

Sa ating mga asembliya, pinaliwanag natin sa publiko na manalo o matalo sa halalan ay isusulong natin ang ating plataporma. Lalabanan natin ang pagtaas ng matrikula. Ikakampanya natin ang mas mataas na pondo para sa edukasyon at iba pang serbisyong panlipunan. Ihahapag natin ang pagkilala at proteksiyon sa karapatan ng mga estudyante.

Nitong nakaraang tatlong buwan, nakalap natin ang iba’t ibang suliranin ng mga kabataan. Pinakinggan natin ang daing ng mga kabataan para sa ganap na pagbabago sa bansa. Bulok na edukasyon, kawalan ng trabaho, korupsiyon sa pamahalaan, pagkasira ng kalikasan, iba’t ibang tipo ng diskriminasyon at humihinang pag-asa na bubuti pa ang kalagayan sa bansa. Mababa o halos wala ng natitirang tiwala ang maraming kabataan sa namumuno sa pamahalaan. Marami ang namumuhi sa pulitika kaya ayaw nilang makialam sa nangyayari sa lipunan. Bagamat hindi natin sila sinisisi, isa pa rin itong nakakalungkot na trahedya.

Karahasan at pandaraya

Bago pa man nagsimula ang kampanya ay todo bigay na ang pananabotahe ng militar sa mga progresibong partylist. Kabilang ang ating partido sa mga malisyosong inakusahan ng militar bilang legal front diumano ng Communist Party. Ibig sabihin, naging lehitimong target na ang ating mga miyembro ng mga sundalong may panatikong galit sa mga tumutuligsa sa pamahalaan.

Umikot ng paaralan ang mga sundalo upang magpakalat ng kasinungalingan at takutin ang mga estudyante na huwag sumali sa ating organisasyon. Ngayon balak nilang magtayo ng mga opisina sa loob mismo ng mga kampus.

Nagtayo ng munting barracks ang mga sundalo sa maraming barangay sa Metro Manila. Community service daw ang pakay pero hinuhuli ang mga aktibista. Tinatakot ang mga magulang ng ating mga miyembro. Sinisiraan ang mga progresibong partylist.

Takot ang Estado, takot ang militar sa popularidad ng mga grupong kontra-Arroyo. Ginawa nila ang lahat upang mabigo ang ating kandidatura. Naging kasangkapan ang militar upang dayain ang resulta ng halalan at gipitin ang mga lumalaban. Wala silang kinikilalang batas o paggalang man lang sa ating mga karapatan. Dalawa sa ating pollwatcher sa Camarines Norte ang walang awang dinukot at pinaslang ng mga sundalo. Ang krimen na ito ay dapat maitala bilang malinaw na halimbawa ng terorismo ng estado. Paano makukumbinsi ang maraming kabataan na lumahok sa halalan kung baril at bala ang isusukli ng pamahalaan?

Ang isa pang manipulasyon ng pamahalaan upang biguin ang mga progresibong partylist ay ang pagpapatakbo ng mga bogus na partylist. Maraming grupo ang binuo at pinondohan ng pamahalaan, na galing sa buwis na binabayad natin, upang guluhin ang halalang partylist. Kahit ang ilan sa kanila ay walang intensiyong manalo, lumalabas na ang kanilang naging papel ay lituhin ang botante at pataasin ang minimum na boto na kailangan para manalo ang isang partylist.

Kapansin-pansin din ang pagsulpot ng mga partylist na sinusuportahan ng mga tradisyunal na pulitiko, warlord at malalaking negosyante. Kahit ang mga may-ari ng mga eskuwelahan at iba’t ibang grupong relihiyoso ay nagtayo ng mga partylist. Sa 2010, inaasahan na dadami pa ang mga bogus na partylist na susuportahan ng mga political dynasty. Tuluyan ng mabibigo ang dakilang layunin ng partylist na bigyang tinig ang maliliit na grupo sa lipunan.

Malawak ang makinarya ng pandaraya ng pamahalaan. Marami tayong naitalang kaso ng dagdag-bawas at dagdag-dagdag. May mga natipon tayong mga dokumento sa ilang mga munisipyo na siyang naging batayan ng ating pagsasampa ng kaso sa maraming opisyal ng Comelec. Dahil sa pagiging sopistikado ng dayaan, mahirap ng matukoy kung anong mga dokumento ang totoo o pawang dinoktor lamang. Paano kaya sa mga lugar na wala tayong pollwatcher? Paano kung ang dayaan ay nangyari sa presinto pa lamang?

Itutuloy at babantayan natin ang mga kasong sinampa natin. Dapat mag-iwan ito ng aral sa sinumang yuyurak sa halalan bilang isang demokratikong proseso. Sa totoo lang, lubhang nakakagalit ang pandarayang nasaksihan natin. Kayod marino ang estilo ng ating pangangampanya samantalang may mga pekeng partylist na umaasa lamang sa panunuhol ng mga opisyal ng Comelec. Hirap na hirap tayong magpasulpot ng pondo pero may mga partylist pala na kumukuha ng pinansiya sa Malakanyang. Masigasig ang ating pagpapaliwanag sa publiko ng ating programa pero may mga partylist pala na tuwirang nakasalalay sa makinarya ng mga political dynasty.

Taas noo

Sa kabila ng pandaraya at karahasan, nakakuha pa rin ang Kabataan Partylist ng disenteng boto. Sa katunayan, nasa top 20 ang ating grupo mula sa mahigit nobentang partylist na lumahok sa halalan. Hindi nakakahiya ang botong nabilang sa atin. Haharap tayo sa publiko nang walang kahihiyan dahil patas at tapat tayong lumaban. Hindi natin binastos ang demokrasya. Bawat boto na nakuha natin ay isang botong malinis na kinampanya ng bawat isa sa atin. May mga natanggap tayong alok upang pataasin ang ating boto sa ilegal na paraan. Ito’y hindi natin tinanggap. Hindi totoo na lahat ng kandidato ay nandaraya. Ibahin ninyo ang Kabataan Partylist.

Bilang nominee

Bago ako tumungo sa huling bahagi ng aking talumpati, nais kong magpasalamat sa tiwalang pinagkaloob ninyo upang ako ay maging isa sa mga nominado ng Kabataan Partylist. Nagkaroon ako ng bibihirang pagkakataon na maging kinatawan ng isang grupo ng mga makabayan at ideyalistang kabataan. Isang karangalan ang maging tagapagsalita ninyong lahat. Buong puso kong binahagi sa ating mga kababayan kung ano ang ating munting minimithi para sa ating lipunan. Marami akong nakilala at nakasalamuha. Marami akong masasayang kuwento. Marami din akong nakakatuwang kuwento. Lagi kong babalik-babalikan ang yugtong ito ng aking buhay kung saan minsan akong naging lider ng Kabataan Partylist.

Nalibot ko ang Pilipinas at nasaksihan ko ang kagandahan ng ating mga tanawain, natatanging likas-yaman at kabutihan ng maraming Pilipino. Mayaman ang ating lupain, malaki ang potensiyal para umunlad, pero tayo ay naghihirap. Nalungkot ako sa aking paglalakbay dahil nakita ko ang mukha ng kahirapan. Sa bawat lugar na pinuntahan ko ay may namamalimos sa akin. Sinanay ang marami nating mga kababayan na umasa sa mumong pinagkakaloob ng mga pulitiko. Ganyan kalala ang kahirapan, kahit partylist nominee na walang pera, hinihingian ng limos.

May dahilan kung bakit hindi mawala ang kahirapan. Bulok kasi ang ating pulitika. Maraming pulitikong pulpol. Pero higit na marami ang matalinong magnanakaw. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit nasusuka ang marami nating kababayan sa mga tradisyunal na pulitiko.

Aral at hamon

Mga kasama, ano ang natutunan natin sa nagdaang eleksiyon? Ano ang hamon para sa ating lahat?

Tinuruan tayo ng eleksiyong ito kung gaano kadumi, karahas at kabulok ang sistema ng pulitika ng ating bansa. Ito ba ang pinagmamalaki nilang uri ng demokrasya? Nagpapatayan ang mga kandidato. Sinusunog ang mga guro. Nandaraya ang nasa kapangyarihan. Mayayaman ang nagwawagi. Nakikialam ang sundalo. Sinusupil ang mga progresibo.

Pinapatunayan ng eleksiyong ito na hindi sasapat ang pagboto upang magkaroon ng pagbabago. Kailangan ng tuluy-tuloy na kolektibong aksiyon. Kailangan ng mapangahas na sama-samang pagkilos. Tama, kailangan pa rin ang rebolusyon. Rebolusyon ng mga ideya. Rebolusyon ng mga gawi. Rebolusyon ng mga puso. At oo, yung rebolusyong iniisip ninyo na hindi ko pwedeng bigkasin.

Kung mayroon tayong nareklutang 40,000 kasapian dito sa Metro Manila, doblehin natin, triplehan natin ang ating mga tsapter. Isulong ang konsolidasyon ng mga balangay. Palakasin pa ang kakayanan ng Kabataan Partylist na umabot pa sa mas maraming paaralan at komunidad.

Patuloy na itaguyod ang interes ng kabataan at mamamayang Pilipino. Nagtaas ng matrikula sa mga pampublikong pamantasan. Kulang-kulang pa rin ang pasilidad sa mga eskuwehan. Kumakamal ng limpak-limpak na tubo ang mga kapitalista-edukador. Ang presyo ng langis ay di na maabot ng mga motorista. Ginigiba ang bahay ng mga mahihirap. Ilang linggo na lamang at ipapatupad na ang anti-terrorism law.

Kung ako ay pulitiko, ang sasabihin ko sa inyo ay maghanda para sa halalang 2010. Pero hindi tayo grupo ng mga tradiyunal na pulitiko. Bakit kailangang hintayin pa ang 2010 samantalang napakaraming usapin na kailangan ng kagyat na aksiyon. Sabi ni Recto: Honey, I’m home. Sabi ni Loi: Erap, here I come. Ang sasabihin ko ngayon: Mga kasama, hinihintay tayo ng masa. Lubusin natin ang lakas ng kabataan sa pamamagitan ng pagsanib ng ating lakas sa pwersa ng ibang nakakaraming sektor sa lipunan tulad ng manggagawa’t magsasaka.

Ang araw na ito ay hindi lamang araw ng pasasalamat kundi isang pagmamarka din ng ating kahandaan na patuloy na kumilos para sa pagbabago. Kung tuloy ang laban, tiyak na tuloy na mabubuhay ang kabuluhan ng Kabataan Partylist.

Ang aking huling punto: tayo ay mga kabataang hindi lamang nangarap ng matiwasay na buhay, maaliwalas na komunidad at mapayapang kinabukasan. Tayo ay mga kabataang nangarap, nagtanong, sumuway, nakialam, nakisangkot at kumilos upang matupad ang ating mga minimithi.

Mabuhay ang Kabataan Partylist! Magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat.

Low freshman enrolment rate in UP blamed on 300% tuition hike

The Kabataan Party today said the University of the Philippines lost a significant percentage of the best and brightest incoming college freshmen this school year after the 300 percent fee increase which pegged the premiere state university’s tuition at P 1,000 per unit.

Kabataan Party President and former UP Diliman Student Council Chair Raymond Palatino said the low enrolment turn-out in UP campuses is distressing.

“The low enrolment figures only confirmed our fears that the 300 percent tuition hike will result into massive disenfranchisement of qualified college hopefuls and higher dropout rate,” Palatino lamented.

Enrolment records show most of the autonomous and constituent campuses of the UP system failed to hit the 50 percent mark in freshmen enrolment rate. An article in the Philippine Collegian reported that only the Diliman and Manila campuses registered freshmen enrolment rates which are higher than 50 percent – 69.13 and 54.88 percent, respectively.

Badly hit by the low turn-outs were the Los Banos and Mindanao campuses, with 16.67 amd 16.76, respectively, Palatino said.

While the Diliman campus, the largest campus, registered the highest freshmen turn-out, he said a big number of UPCAT (UP College Admission Test) qualifiers in Diliman either deferred or failed to confirm for enrolment earlier this month.

Data from the Office of the University Registrar in UP Diliman show that 1,331 freshmen or 34.7 percent of the total 3,825 UPCAT UP Diliman qualifiers did not confirm for enrolment.

He added that the high no-show rate in UP campuses subsequently caused a staggering decline in enrolment figures for several degree programs, with some registering a zero enrolment turn-out. The BA Filipino, BA Araling Pilipino, and BA Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino offered by the Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan in UP Diliman all had a zero turn-out.

Palatino blamed the tuition hike for the low freshmen enrolment rate in UP, saying high fees discouraged many parents and UPCAT passers to choose the state university and enroll for this school year.

“Before, passing the UPCAT was both an honor and a relief for parents who would no longer have to worry about high tuition and other school fees. But with a higher tuition rate, parents now had to think twice before sending their children to UP.”

He said poor but deserving students coming from the provinces and public schools were affected the most.

“The 300 percent tuition hike prevented bright students from depressed and remote areas of the country from enroling in UP and eventually forced them to settle for poorly-maintained state colleges in the provinces or worse, give up their college dream.”

Palatino said the UP administration and the government should have already learned its lessons from the last year’s education tragedy wherein two National Achievement Test topnotchers Julie Albior and Flores Biwang failed to enrol in the university and enter college because of poverty.

He also appealed to the UP BOR to withdraw its earlier decision and consider the interest and welfare of the future Iskolars ng Bayan.

“More than generating funds, UP as the ‘University of the People’ should ensure that higher education is accessible to ordinary young Filipinos. What are state universities for if poor but deserving students can’t enrol just because of preventive school fees? Not only does it defeat the purpose for the creation of state schools but it only highlights the more devastating crisis and tragedy that await the educational system this school year.”

SAYS YOUTH GROUP
More students transfer from private to public schools

By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Southern Luzon Bureau
Last updated 11:30pm (Mla time) 06/15/2007

LUCENA CITY, Philippines — More college students from private schools have transferred to state universities and colleges (SUCs) this year due to rising costs of education, according to a militant youth organization.

Citing records from the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), Kabataan partylist group, showed an exodus of college students enrolled in private schools to SUCs over the last two decades.

The group noted that in 1980, only 10 percent of college students were studying in state schools. By 1994, the number went up to 21 percent and at present already accounts for almost 40 percent of tertiary population, according to the youth organization.

“But many of these transferees will find themselves dropping out of college,” Raymond Palatino, Kabataan president, said in a statement, as he warned that the situation would result to a higher number of college dropouts this school year.

“The problem is, there are no more rooms in state schools either. Not only are they few now and their enrolment quotas limited, they are also haunted by increases in tuition and other fees thus forcing many state scholars to leave,” he added.

Palatino said SUCs are also forced to accept only a limited number of students due to financial constraints.

He noted that this schoolyear, only 12,053 applicants qualified in the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT). More than 60,000 high school graduates all over the country take the UPCAT every year.

Likewise, only 8,523 college hopefuls qualified in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines College Entrance Test (PUPCET) out of 80,000 applicants, according to Palatino.

“But many of these successful examinees did not enroll this schoolyear,” Palatino said.

He said the 300 percent tuition hike in UP led to a significant decline in the freshman enrollment in several course offerings.

“The Office of the Student Regent earlier placed the no-show rate or the number of UPCAT passers who did not enroll at 20 to 40 percent,” he said.

Palatino said that access to public higher education institutions, which are the last resort for students who want to obtain a college degree, has become impossible to many college hopefuls.

“While it is true that SUCs offer tuition lower than private schools, tuition rate and miscellaneous fees in state schools and universities have seen the biggest increases in recent years, thus making it also inaccessible to ordinary students,” he explained.

He blamed the annual cutbacks in the education budget and the government’s rationalization policy, which seeks to reduce the number of state schools, led to the hike in school fees and subsequent decline in enrollment.

The policy of rationalization allows SUCs to be treated no longer as national agencies performing socially-oriented activities and hence entitled to government subsidy, but as income-earning entities, Palatino explained.

“This further translates into incentives for money-making tertiary schools, thereby fully encouraging the commercialization of education. The policy has ensured corporate dominance even in public education,” he lamented.

Kabataan disclosed that from 271 in 1996, the number of public tertiary institutions went down to only 111 in 2006. CHEd figures also show declining enrollment figures in public tertiary since 1997, from a growth rate of 20.75 percent that year to only 0.9 percent by 2002.

Palatino called on the next Congress to conduct a comprehensive review of existing education policies similar to the Education Commission of 1992.

The youth group also urged lawmakers to pass pending bills seeking to institute reforms in the country’s educational system.

Among the bills awaiting approval are the proposed moratorium on tuition and other fee increases and amendments to the Education Act of 1982 which placed private tertiary education in a deregulated environment

Palatino particularly emphasized the need to resolve the controversy created by the “anomalous” suspension of CHED Memorandum Order No. 14 or the guidelines for tuition and other fee increase applications and its subsequent amendments last February.

The Kabataan Party today said more college students opted to transfer to state universities and colleges (SUCs) this year due to rising cost of education in private schools.

Records of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) show an exodus of college students enrolled in private schools to SUCs over the last two decades. In 1980, only 10 percent of college students were studying in state schools. By 1994, the number went up to 21 percent and at present already accounts for almost 40 percent of tertiary population.

“But many of these transferees will find themselves dropping out of college,” Kabataan Party President Raymond Palatino said. He warned that this will result in a higher number of college dropouts this coming semester.

“The problem is, there are no more rooms in state schools either,” he added.

“State schools are plagued by similar problems. Not only are they few now and their enrolment quotas limited, they are also haunted by increases in tuition and other fees thus forcing many state scholars to leave.”

Palatino said that access to public higher education institutions, which are the last resort for students who want to obtain a college degree, has become impossible to many college hopefuls.

“While it is true that SUCs offer a tuition lower than private schools,
tuition rate and miscellaneous fees in state schools and universities have seen the biggest increases in recent years, thus making it also inaccessible to ordinary students.”

He said the annual cutbacks in the education budget and the government’s rationalization policy which seeks to reduce the number of state schools led to hike in school fees and subsequent decline in enrollment.

From 271 in 1996, the number of public tertiary institutions went down to only 111 in 2006. CHED figures also show declining enrollment figures in public tertiary since 1997, from a growth rate of 20.75 percent that year to only 0.9 percent by 2002.

Palatino added that SUCs are also forced to accept only a limited number of students due to financial constraints.

This year, only 12,053 applicants qualified in the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT). More than 60,000 high school graduates all over the country take the UPCAT every year.

On the other hand, only 8,523 college hopefuls qualified in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines College Entrance Test (PUPCET) out of 80,000 applicants.

But many of these successful examinees did not enroll this school year, Palatino said.

He said the 300 percent tuition hike in UP led to a significant decline in the freshman enrollment in several course offerings. The Office of the Student Regent earlier placed the no-show rate or the number of UPCAT passers who did not enroll at 20 to 40 percent.

Another state school, the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST) in Manila experience a sharp decline in enrollment. Initial enrollment reports show that more than half of the 13,000 strong student population failed to enroll this school year. Only 6,000 enrolled and most of them only made partial payments. The EARIST administration recently increased tuition by almost 600 percent, from 15 pesos per unit to 100 pesos.

The current crisis in tertiary education, Palatino said, should also be blamed on government’s policy of rationalization. The policy allows SUCs to be treated no longer as national agencies performing socially-oriented activities and hence entitled to government subsidy, but as income-earning entities.

“This further translates into incentives for money-making tertiary schools, thereby fully encouraging the commercialization of education.”

“The policy has ensured corporate dominance even in public education,” he said.

The Kabataan Party today said school owners and administrators are raking in bigger profits without actually raising tuition.

The youth group revealed that schools have been jacking up miscellaneous fees in place of annual tuition hikes.

“Schools are foregoing tuition increases but they have been bloating miscellaneous fees which are mostly questionable,” Kabataan Party President Raymond Palatino said.

“Unlike tuition, miscellaneous fee hikes have remained unchecked for the last few years. This explains why school owners are able to avoid tuition hikes but still manage to rake in bigger profits annually,” he added.

He said that such tactic has proven to be very profitable to school owners. Unlike tuition, miscellaneous fee of all sorts are not included in the tuition increase consultations provided under CHED memorandum no. 13 which was recently reimplemented following the lifting of the tuition cap, he said.

Palatino cited energy fee, development fee, accreditation fee, athletics fee, internet fee, insurance fee and aircondition fee as some of the dubious fees being collected in private schools.

“Even disbursements for capital expenditures and operating expenses which supposedly are already included in the basic tuition are being charged to students in the form of other miscellaneous fees like the energy fee and the development fee. Some school administrators claim that the energy fee is for the purchase of new air-conditioning units while the development fee is for the construction of new buildings and improvement of other facilities,” Palatino explained.

“These fees are not only questionable, they are superfluous. School owners are becoming more creative in inventing new fees to justify their lust for profit,” he said.

Palatino quoted former CHED executive director Roger Perez as saying in an interview with a daily broadsheet in 2004 that most tertiary schools were charging various fees that he described as “downright ridiculous,” citing as examples unexplained fees for energy, guidance and counseling, aircon, social action, building and development.
Some of the most absurd fees being collected are the postal fee, insurance fee, Smart fee and copier fee in AMA Computer University; power charge fee in Trinity University of Asia; Land Infrastructure Maintenance and Acquisition Development fee in the University of the Cordilleras; accreditation fee in Technological Institute of the Philippine; and pre-registration fee in Aquinas University in Albay.

The Philippine Maritime Institute is charging students with a Safety on Land and Seas fee worth P5,000 to P6,000 while the University of the East in Manila is charging cultural fee amounting to P162 and Internet fee of P976.

“The Asian School of Arts and Sciences is collecting P250 for athletic fee even if the school doesn’t have a varsity team,” Palatino revealed.

“Unless the government and CHED start to regulate miscellaneous fees, school owners will continue to profit from students and parents through these excessive fees. CHED must also determine the miscellaneous fees which schools can collect,” he said.

Palatino also urged CHED to abolish exorbitant fees being charged by schools and penalize school owners who will continue to impose questionable fees on students.

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/45670/Nationwide-protests-vs-tuition-hikes-set-June-13

When colleges start classes next Wednesday, militant youth and student groups will lead nationwide protests to protest tuition and other fee increases.

Aside from scoring “abusive” school owners, the groups chided the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for allegedly faltering in its responsibility to Filipino students.

“The CHED has been reduced into a mere monitoring agency. Despite formal complaints and protests from students and parents, CHED remains toothless even as to implementing its limp guidelines in holding so-called consultations,” Kabataan party president Raymond Palatino said.

Kabataan Party and the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) will lead the protests against the tuition hikes and CHED’s supposed lack of political will to stand up to private school owners.

Palatino said CHED, for the past years, has miserably failed to implement meaningful and significant reforms in higher education.

It has also lacked political will to stand up against abusive private school owners, he said.

He said the higher percentages and increase in the number of tuition increases this school year only confirmed fears that CHED’s last-minute policy change raising the tuition cap will make it easier for school owners to impose bigger hikes in tuition and other fees.

“The lifting of the tuition cap only shows the Commission can be quickly maneuvered by private school owners,” he added.

Palatino urged lawmakers to speed up investigations and review the Education Act of 1982 which students since the 1980’s have been fighting to be scrapped.

He also called on lawmakers to probe schools which are frequently included in the top 5,000 corporations in the country and freeze planned tuition increases for the coming school year.

Among these schools are Centro Escolar University (CEU), Far Eastern University (FEU), Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT), University of the East (UE), AMA Computer University and STI Colleges. - GMANews.TV

The Kabataan Party and the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) today chided the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) for its lack of political will to stand up to private school owners and regulate unabated tuition hikes.

“The CHED has been reduced into a mere monitoring agency. Despite formal complaints and protests from students and parents, CHED remains toothless even as to implementing its limp guidelines in holding so-called consultations,” Kabataan Party President Raymond Palatino said.

Palatino added that CHED, for the past years, has miserably failed to implement meaningful and significant reforms in higher education and utterly lacked political will to stand up against abusive private school owners.

He said the higher percentages and increase in the number of tuition increases this school year only confirmed fears that CHED’s last-minute policy change lifting the tuition cap will further make it easier for school owners to impose bigger hikes in tuition and other fees.

“The lifting of the tuition cap only shows the Commission can be quickly maneuvered by private school owners.”

Meanwhile, Palatino urged lawmakers to speed up investigations and review the Education Act of 1982 which students since the 1980’s have been fighting to be scrapped.

“Our lawmakers must act now before it’s too late. College education in the country is in the brink of a breakdown. The first thing our legislators must to do is to scrap the government’s tuition deregulation policy.”

He also called on lawmakers to probe schools which are frequently included in the top 5,000 corporations in the country and freeze planned tuition increases for the coming school year. Among these schools are Centro Escolar University (CEU), Far Eastern University (FEU), Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT), University of the East (UE), AMA Computer University and STI Colleges.

Palatino said Kabataan and NUSP will lead a nationwide protest against tuition and other fee increases on June 13 to mark the opening of classes in various colleges and universities.

The Kabataan Party blamed the flawed tuition system for the worsening problems in tertiary education, saying two decades of tuition deregulation have only resulted to high school fees and a pitiful quality of education.

“The Philippine tuition system has miserably failed and the Commission on Higher Education’s decade of monumental blunder of feigning helplessness towards skyrocketing school fees is largely to be blamed,” Kabataan Party President Raymond Palatino said.

Palatino said it is time for incoming lawmakers and the Philippine government to learn what other countries are doing in order to balance the need to infuse resources in schools and the right of students to affordable college education.

“We need a new tuition regulation mechanism that would have sweeping and radical results in democratizing access to higher education.”

A study made by Kabataan Party and the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) on the rising cost of tertiary education showed that in just five years, from academic year 2000-2001 to the present, the national average tuition rate has increased by roughly 65 percent. The National Capital Region (NCR) average rate, on the other hand, went up by almost 60 percent.

Based on the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) records on tuition increases, tuition was steadily increasing by an average of almost 12 percent for the last five years.

Palatino blamed the Education Act of 1982 for the staggering tuition hikes in the last two decades. “By giving them a free hand in determining tuition rate, the Education Act effectively bestowed private school owners limitless powers,” he said.

Batas Pambansa No. 232, otherwise known as the Education Act of 1982, laid down the guidelines and regulations governing the collection and application of tuition and other fees by all educational institutions. In particular, Section 42 gave private schools a free hand in determining tuition rates thus allowing private schools to increase the fee every school year.

The deregulated environment set by the Act ensured the wholesale commodification of a fast-expanding private tertiary education, Palatino said.

“This was also the reason behind the unexpected collapse of pre-need education firms like the College Assurance Plan (CAP),” Palatino said. “The pre-need education industry’s downfall merely highlights how the cost of education, particularly in the tertiary level, has dramatically increased after the deregulation of tuition.”

From 1990-1995 just before the Asian financial bubble burst in 1997, tuition jumped to 275 percent. For the last 15 years since 1990, tuition has swelled by almost 700 percent.

Kabataan projects that if the average tuition rate increase of 12 percent continues for the next five years, the national average per unit would reach P590.20 by 2010. By then tuition would have increased by as high as 1,257.41 percent since 1990.

“Clearly, the relentless hikes in tuition and other fees have earned for private school owners millions of profits over the last two decades,” Palatino says. “This largely explains why some business tycoons like Lucio Tan and the Yuchengcos are now venturing into tertiary education.”

Most of these schools have consistently landed among the country’s top 1,000 corporations since 1996. By the end of 2003, nine schools were included in this list. Their combined profits amounted to P1.13 billion.

Private schools frequently listed among the top corporations in the country in terms of profit are the Centro Escolar University (CEU), MIT, Far Eastern University (FEU), UE, Philippine Maritime Institute (PMI), Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP), AMA Computer University and STI College.

Palatino urged lawmakers to repeal the Education Act of 1982. “Our lawmakers must immediately act to stop these tuition and miscellaneous fee increases and put a moratorium on the proposed new round of hikes for the next school year. Unless the government starts to flex its muscles on these increases, we will be seeing a higher drop-out rate and bigger number of out-of-school youth in the next five years.”

Even CHED admits that “unless BP 232 (Education Act of 1982) is repealed or amended, the most viable course for all concerned is to take a close look at where the increases are going.”

“Unless the government reverses its present education policies and its thrust to hand over tertiary education to private sector and until it flexes its muscles to stop the incessant hikes in tuition and other fees, it will certainly bury the confidence, hopes and great faith of the Filipino youth and the nation for a brighter future ahead,” Palatino warned.

The Kabataan Party today called on newly proclaimed Senators to translate their electoral agenda and promises into practice by making the immediate resolution of the current ‘tuition hike crisis’ their top priority in the 14th Congress.

“This will be the best opportunity for them to prove to us that they are really for the youth and they participated in this elections to defend and uphold the interest of young Filipinos, particularly for education,” Kabataan Party President Raymond Palatino said
Palatino said the next Congress should prioritize pending bills that seek to institute much needed reforms in the education sector.

Among the bills awaiting approval are the proposed moratorium on tuition and other fee increases and amendments to the Education Act of 1982 which placed private tertiary education in a deregulated environment.

“It’s high time that Congress starts to flex its muscles on unabated increases in tuition and other fees. Government’s tuition deregulation policy has resulted to skyrocketing tuition and miscellaneous fee hikes and caused the ranks of dropouts and out-of-school youth to swell for the past decade. ”

Palatino particularly emphasized the need to resolve the controversy created by the anomalous suspension of CHED Memorandum Order No. 14 or the guidelines for tuition and other fee increase applications and its subsequent amendments last February.

“We call on the lawmakers to investigate CHED and its officials for committing grave abuse of discretion and violating its own standard operating procedures when it hastily suspended the tuition cap amid ongoing tuition consultations. ”

CHED Chairman Carlito Puno issued the memorandum suspending the tuition cap last February 20 days before the conclusion of regular tuition hike consultations in private colleges and universities.

Kabataan and NUSP earlier accused CHED of conspiring with the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) to lift the tuition cap to allow private school owners to increase tuition beyond the inflation rate.

Palatino also urged the elected Senators to investigate schools which are charging dubious and excessive fees to students.

In 2003 alone, nine schools landed among the top 1,000 corporations in the country with a combined profit of P1.23 billion, he said, citing data from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“How was it possible for big private schools to rake in millions in profit while CHED’s guidelines only provide a 10 percent return of investment for imposed fee increases? School owners have certainly made a lucrative business out of tertiary education and CHED appears to be a willing accomplice.”

Meanwhile, Palatino said the next Congress should also conduct a comprehensive review of existing education policies similar to the Education Commission of 1992.

“The recurring problems hounding the education sector should prompt lawmakers and education officials to assess the effectiveness and viability of existing policies and formulate new policies that are responsive to the needs of students, the academe and the local economy in general.”

Poor training, Low Salary Keep Education Grads from Teaching

The country has enough of Teacher Education graduates to plug the growing teacher-student gap but many of them fail to pass the licensure exam due to raw training and more opt to go abroad – or stay in the country – to work as housemaids.

“Every school year, more than 400,000 college hopefuls aspire to become teachers. Practically almost all tertiary or college level institutions in the country offer a degree in Teacher Education. Yet the country lacks roughly some 50,000 teachers,” Kabataan Party Vice President Carl Marc Ramota said.

“Only a fraction among the thousands who flock to Teacher Education are able to attain their dream profession. Specifically, only a little more than 100,000 education students reach the fourth year,” he said, citing the data from the Professional Regulation Commission.

“And of the more than 100,000 who graduate, only a few pass the licensure exams,” Ramota said, citing the poor performance of Education graduates in the 2006 Licensure Examinations for Teachers.

Only 17,377 out of 59,457 or a measly 29.23 percent of the examinees passed the exams for elementary education while 32.44 percent or 17,290 out of 53,303 examinees passed the test for secondary education in the August 2006 Licensure Examinations for Teachers (LET).

“The poor performance of our graduates in professional examinations is only reflective of the dismal state of our education system,” Ramota pointed out.

“Many Teacher Education institutions are producing half-baked graduates who add up to the bulk of LET non-passers and unemployed or underemployed teachers,” he said.

“Even these schools are now being turned into mere for-profit diploma mills rather than as training ground for future mentors.”

Ramota said many of those who manage to pass the LET eventually abandon their profession in favor of jobs that are available here or abroad.

“Sadly, of the current crop of teachers, the best and the brightest are now teaching abroad. Many of them are also leaving to work as domestics in other countries,” he added.

“The employment crisis, low salary and unrealistic professional regulation policies continue to plague the education profession.”
Since 2001, the salaries of government employees, which include teachers, have been frozen. The last salary increases were given in 2000, a 10 percent increase (P440) and five percent in 2001 (P242).

A teacher’s starting salary is only P9,939 a month, a little higher than the minimum wage in Metro Manila. Independent think-tank Ibon Foundation pegged the monthly cost of living in the National Capital Region at P20,454.61 or a difference of P10,515.61.

“We can’t blame our teachers for leaving the country or for working as housemaids. Whatever salary they receive does not correspond to their load of work,” he said.

A study released by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also show that teachers in the Philippines work an average of 1,176 hours per year and teach classes of over 50 students.

Ramota warned the country will see more classrooms with no teachers in the next years if the government and the Education department fail to arrest this alarming trend.

He feared that the problem in the shortage of teachers and poor performance in LET may lead to further decline in educational standards.

All of these, he said, send a distressing signal to the education sector. “We could only imagine what kind of students we are producing if their teachers are not adequately equipped with the appropriate skills.”

The Kabataan Party said the Education department’s own class size formula is to be blamed for the growing achievement gap and poor performance of public schools students.

“DepEd’s pupil-classroom ratio currently pegged at 45 to 1 is already worrisome. Instead of resolving the shortage of classrooms, the Arroyo government has institutionalized overcrowding in public school classrooms,” Kabataan Party President Raymond Palatino said.

“What’s ironic is while countries all over the world are spending billions to reduce their public schools’ class size, our government wants to double it.”

Citing a report from the American Educational Research Association, Palatino said smaller classes can shrink the achievement gap and lead to reduced grade retention and less dropping out.

The same study shows that the ideal number of students in a class is 13 to 17 and should start in preschool or first grade.

Palatino said the National Education Association in the United States is also pushing for a class size of 15 students in regular programs.

He also cited a class size study in Tennessee called the Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) project which showed that students attending small classes in the early grades make more rapid educational progress than students in larger classes, and that these achievement gains persist well after students move on to larger classes in later grades.

“It’s common sense that students learn more when qualified teachers teach smaller classes. Teachers with small classes can spend time and energy helping each child succeed. Smaller classes also enhance safety, discipline and order in the classroom.”

Meanwhile, Palatino scored DepEd’s current class scheme which he says will only lead to a further decline in the quality of education in public schools.

“DepEd’s policy does not address the serious inadequacy of classrooms or the declining quality of education. Instead it is creating an illusion that classroom shortage in public schools is gradually being reduced by using a shift system and increasing the maximum capacity of classrooms,” he pointed out.

“How do we expect elementary and high school students to be competent if they would only be studying on a half-day basis or worse just four hours for schools with three to four classroom shift? No wonder most grade 6 pupils have the competenci es of those in grade 4.”

DepEd figures show that only 20 percent of grade 6 have the competencies of grade 6.

Students rush towards Mendiola Bridge leading to the Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines to protest tuition fee increases imposed by schools around the country on Monday June 4, 2007, the opening day of classes for the school year 2007-2008. About 20 million students troop back to schools Monday with protesters assailing Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for the alleged deteriorating quality of education in the country. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Riot police clash with students who stormed the Mendiola Bridge leading to the Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines to protest tuition fee increases imposed by schools around the country on opening of classes for the school year 2007-2008 Monday June 4, 2007. About 20 million students troop back to schools Monday with protesters assailing Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for the alleged deteriorating quality of education in the country. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Students try to hold back riot police as they are pushed away after storming the Mendiola Bridge leading to the Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines to protest tuition fee increases imposed by schools around the country on Monday June 4, 2007, the opening of classes for the school year 2007-2008. About 20 million students troop back to schools Monday with protesters assailing Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for the alleged deteriorating quality of education in the country. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Back-to-school woes worse than ever - youth groups
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/44915/Back-to-school-woes-worse-than-ever—youth-groups
http://www5.gmanews.tv/photoblog/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=3

Despite the government’s “business-as-usual” attitude, militant youth groups scored the government for abandoning the country’s education system as shown by the continued lack of classrooms, facilities and teachers.

Kabataan party and the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) cited United Nations figures showing the classroom-to-student ratio in the Philippines still pales in comparison to other Asian countries.

“The 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,” Kabataan Party Vice President Carl Marc Ramota said in a statement.

Yet, he said classrooms in the Philippines is among the most crowded in Asia, as shown by data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics.

He said UNESCO figures show that class size in the Philippine public elementary schools (43.9) pales in comparison to Malaysia (31.7), Thailand (22.9), Japan (28.6) and even in India (40).

The disparity between the Philippines and other Asian countries in class size was even bigger in the high school level, he said.

In the same survey, the country registered an average high school class size of 56.1, higher than Malaysia’s 34, Thailand’s 41.5, Japan’s 33.9 and India’s 39.

“The same problems continue to haunt the education sector year after year. The shortages in classrooms and chairs worsened with the transfer of students from private to public schools. Many middle-income families that cannot afford the high tuition in private schools are transferring their children to the public schools, which offer free tuition and books,” he said.

Even DepEd’s own studies reveal that public schools nationwide are in decrepit
conditions. Some 80 percent of them have no running water, 60 percent have no toilets, 40 percent have no ceilings and 50 percent have no electricity.

Ramota said government misprioritization and poor education spending aggravated by rampant graft and corruption were to be blamed for worsening crisis in education.

In 2004, education spending dropped to 14.9 percent of the national budget from 19.3 percent in 1997 and it continued to decline ever since, he said.

On the other hand, government spending on debt payments shot up from 15.9 percent in 1997 to almost 40 percent of the national budget at present.

Ramota said the Philippine government is spending only an average of 3 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product on public educational institutions.

In 2003, the country spent a measly 3.3 percent for education. This pales in comparison to its neighboring countries Malaysia (7.4 percent) and Thailand (4 percent). It is also lower than the 4 percent average for all countries that were included in the World Education Indicators in 2006.

The minimum prescribed standard for education spending set by UNESCO is 6 percent of a country’s GDP.

Also, Ramota said the Philippines is also lagging behind its Asian counterparts in public expenditure on education as a percentage of total public spending.

At all levels of education, the Philippines is only spending 17.2 percent compared to Thailand’s 40 percent and Malaysia’s 28 percent, he said.

Translating this into expenditures per student, he said the same study shows that the Philippine education spending is still way below its Asian competitors.

The country spends 500, 505 and 1,717 dollars (purchasing power parity) for primary education, secondary education and tertiary education, respectively.

The Philippines lags behind Malaysia (1,830, 2,920 and 10,792 dollars) and Thailand (3,442, 2,484 and 4,474 PPP dollars).

“The government has been formulating several education policies and programs with the aim of improving the quality of education in the country but it is missing the most important and decisive factor to meet this goal – spending more on education. Unfortunately, government spending on education has been the complete opposite in the past years,” he said.

“Education is an avowed priority of the State but under the present administration, like its predecessors, it does not draw an ounce of sympathy from the authorities,” he added. - GMANews.TV

Much to the consternation of various youth groups, some public schools that are supposed to provide free education are now charging tuition and other fees. The age-old problems of teacher shortage and lack of facilities, along with higher tuition, are more than enough basis for the protest actions being organized in time for the opening of classes this June.

BY AUBREY MAKILAN
Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 17, June 3-9, 2007
http://www.bulatlat.com/2007/06/no-free-basic-education-public-high-schools-charge-higher-tuition-other-fees

No less than Education Secretary Jesli Lapuz said that collection of school fees is not a prerequisite to enrollment in public elementary and high schools where students enjoy free tuition.

But Aling Nena (who requested anonymity for fear that the school administration might get back at her children) even paid a much higher “tuition” this year for her two daughters at Lawang Bato High School, a public school in Valenzuela City.

Last year, she said she paid P100 ($2.17, based on an exchange rate of P46.08 per US dollar) as tuition. This enrollment, it increased to P200 ($4.34), excluding the Parents-Teacher Association (PTA) fee of P100 ($2.17).

Aside from that, she said parents also complained to the Department of Education (DepEd) about the cost of the school uniform. Aling Nena said that in the recent PTA meeting, the school administration and the parents agreed that only the costs of the uniforms of the freshmen will increase.

However, they discovered that the school changed the uniform for sophomores, requiring the latter’s parents to order new sets of uniforms from the school. Aling Nena was dismayed that her sophomore daughter could no longer use her old uniform. And since a new set of uniform costs P450 ($9.77) each for small size, she might be forced to spend P900 ($19.53) if her daughter were to have two sets which she will use for the whole week.

Lapuz said that “contributions, whether for student activities or for upgrading of school facilities, can only be collected from students on a voluntary basis.”

At Paso de Blas Elementary School, a public school also in Valenzuela, P20 ($0.43) is being collected upon enrolment for the repainting of the school, said Mercy, a parent of a Grade II student. She said others who could not really afford the P20 ($0.43) would not pay. “Pero paano ka naman tatanggi kapag kaharap mo na ang teacher?” she said, noting that it might have a negative impact on her child’s relationship with the teacher. (But how can you refuse if you are in front of the teacher?)

For her daughter studying at Maysan National High School, another public school in Valenzuela, she paid “tuition” amounting to P200 ($4.34). The receipt, however, only reflected an amount of P190 ($4.12). She was told that the remaining P10 ($0.22) was for the school paper.

The DepEd said that public schools are authorized to collect fees only for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Red Cross and the Anti-TB campaign and these are “voluntary.” Contributions for school papers should not be more than P55 and P80 ($1.19 and $1.74) for elementary and secondary levels, respectively. DepEd-recognized student organizations are also allowed to collect “voluntary contributions” up to P55 ($1.19) per student.

The DepEd Oplan Balik Eskwela (Operation Back to School) Command Center reported that it is now investigating several public schools after receiving complaints about the illegal collection of fees in these schools. Among those being investigated are Novaliches Elementary School (ES), Krus na Ligas ES, Barangay Holy Spirit ES, Commonwealth ES, San Antonio ES and Lagro National High School in Quezon City.

Hiding shortages?

Aside from the tuition and fee increases, students also suffer from shortages of teachers, classrooms and facilities.

Lapus said that there is no teacher shortage this school year for primary and secondary public schools. “With 16,390 new teachers, we actually eliminated the problem of shortage of teachers in the public school system.”

The proposed teaching post allocation is broken down into 8,586 for elementary schools and 7,804 for high schools. Region 4-A gets the most number of new teachers with 3,850, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) with 2,583. Central Luzon is third with 1,598 new teaching allocations.

But youth organizations are doubtful if the shortage was really filled up. The groups said that just last year, the DepEd data pegged the shortage of teachers at 49,699, classroom shortage at 57,930 and armchair shortage at 3.48 million.

Kabataan Party President Raymond Palatino said the Philippines has one of the lowest per capita spending for education in Asia at P3,557 ($77.19). “That means less than P10 ($0.22) per day for every student.”

“Dagdag-bawas”

Not just a prevalent practice in elections, “dagdag-bawas” (“addition-subtraction” or “vote padding-vote shaving”) also victimizes the education sector, Palatino said.

Palatino said that private tertiary schools have allegedly long developed and perfected its own “dagdag-bawas” machinery with yearly tuition hikes.

The youth leader said that reports of tuition increases involving hundreds of schools nationwide only confirmed what they said earlier that the anomalous suspension of the tuition cap early this year would be used by school owners to increase tuition beyond the inflation rate.

Reports from the League of Filipino Students (LFS), National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) and Anakbayan (Sons and Daughters of the People) revealed that the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) approved tuition increases in 88 schools in the NCR.

Palatino said that the CHED, Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) and the Arroyo administration connived to suspend the implementation of CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 14 and subsequent amendments CMO 42 and CMO 7 which prohibited private schools from increasing their tuition above the 6.2-percent inflation rate.

He questioned the timing of the suspension last Feb. 20 as it came out in the middle of tuition consultations in various private schools and after COCOPEA’s meeting with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a week earlier.

“Even state universities, which are supposed to accommodate poor but deserving students, have increased their tuition,” said Vencer Crisostomo, LFS national chairperson. “As a result, many deserving students have not been able to enroll.”

At the University of the Philippines, tuition increased from P300 to P1,000 ($6.51 to $21.70) per unit.

At the Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST), the tuition increased from P15 to P100 ($0.33 to $2.17) per unit, said sisters Irene and Angie Benjamin. They added that miscellaneous fees for old students also increased.

Drop outs

If the “dagdag” scheme meant “tuition padding,” the youth group said that the decrease in the number of enrollees and the corresponding upsurge in the number of dropouts and out-of-school youth led to “bawas” (reduction). “With higher tuition rates and more preventive (prohibitive) fees being charged both in public and private institutions, we fear that the number of drop outs will double this coming semester,” warned Palatino.

According to independent think-tank Ibon Foundation, the worsening economic conditions in the country have denied millions of children the right to a decent education as shown by increasing drop out rates.

Data from the Department of Education showed that dropout rates, which had been steadily improving during the 1990s, worsened since the year 2000. It reached 10.6 percent in the elementary level and 15.8 percent in the secondary level in school year (SY) 2005-2006. Comparing these rates to enrolment figures during the same year would show that as many as 2.4 million children may have dropped out of school last year, said Ibon.

Ibon said that majority of those who dropped out came from public schools. Enrolment in public elementary schools fell by 106,903 in SY 2005-2006 while that in public secondary schools decreased by 64,746.

Palatino said that the trend for the past 10 years showed that for every 10 pupils who enrolled in grade school, only seven graduated. “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.”

Citing the 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FEIS), Palatino said Filipinos are now allocating less for their education.

He said the average spending of families on school fees, books and supplies fell to 4.0 percent from 4.2 percent during the three-year period as average family income in the country also declined 10 percent between 2000 and 2003. Before the turn of the millennium, the share of educational expenses had been gradually increasing, he said.

“Unfortunately, most Filipino families now have to make a choice between sending their children to school and spending their meager income on food in order to survive. Poverty and government neglect have made education a luxury to many of our countrymen,” Palatino said.

Because of this, many of these children might have been forced to leave school to earn a living, Ibon said. In 2006, it reported that some 2.5 million children aged 5 to 17 were working either to augment family income or simply to survive. It added that the number of children in schools is also dropping: in SY 2005-2006 only 84 percent of children aged 6-11 was able to attend elementary school, a sharp decrease from the 90 percent recorded in 2001-2002.

“The declining number of children who are able to go to school reflects their vulnerability to economic difficulties which have been worsening during the last six years of the Arroyo administration,” Ibon said. “Among the country’s basic sectors, the biggest number of poor people is found among the children, with some 14.1 million of them considered poor.”

This school year, the Department of Education (DepEd) estimated an enrolment of 13.24 million in the elementary level. Of this, 12.18 million will go to public schools while 1.06 million will enroll in private schools. For the secondary level, there is a projected 6.43 million enrollees with 5.13 million set to go to public high schools, while 1.3 million will be taken in by private secondary high schools, Lapus said.

Military deployment

Militant youth activists also protested the planned redeployment of military troops in Metro Manila schools for the class opening.

Palatino and Crisostomo said the military deployment in schools is related to the implementation of the Human Security Act (HSA) of 2007 which is “intended to target progressive student organizations, student councils and publications that are critical of the Arroyo administration.”

He cited cases where youth activists have been victimized allegedly by the military like the murder of two Kabataan poll watchers in Camarines Norte in May; the brutal killings of known Bicol student leaders Cris Hugo, Farly Alcantara and Reimon Guran; and abduction of UP student activists Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan.

“We fear that this could lead to an escalation of human rights violations against known student activists and even members of student councils and campus publications,” Palatino said, noting that this might also have an impact on the psychological well-being of students.

“Military troops have no place in academic institutions. Schools are not war zones. We will not allow this government to transform our schools into military camps.

The militant youth organizations warned that the military will get more than the eggs and mud Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon got when he went to UP.

Protests

Meanwhile, Palatino called on elected district representatives and soon-to-be senators to make good their promises and prove their claims during the campaign period that they are for making education accessible to the youth by prioritizing the resolution of the “tuition hike crisis” when Congress opens.

The youth groups called on lawmakers “to join the students’ clamor for an end to unabated tuition and other fee increases and to conduct an immediate investigation on the suspension of the tuition cap.”

Kabataan Party and other student groups are gearing up for huge protests on June 4 and 13 to mark the beginning of classes at the basic and tertiary levels, respectively. Bulatlat

Back-to-school woes worse than ever

While the Department of Education adopted a “business-as-usual” attitude in explaining preparations for the school opening, the Kabataan Party and the National Union of Students of the Philippines said students and teachers are also getting ready on Monday to take the government to task for its abandonment of education as they provide an alternative analysis of the country’s educational system.

“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,” Kabataan Party Vice President Carl Marc Ramota said.

Ramota said classrooms in the Philippines is among the most crowded in Asia.

Data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics show that class size in the Philippine public elementary schools (43.9) pales in comparison to Malaysia (31.7), Thailand (22.9), Japan (28.6) and even in India (40).

He said the disparity between the Philippines and other Asian countries in class size was even bigger in the high school level. In the same survey, the country registered an average high school class size of 56.1, higher than Malaysia’s 34, Thailand’s 41.5, Japan’s 33.9 and India’s 39.

” The same problems continue to haunt the education sector year after year. The shortages in classrooms and chairs worsened with the transfer of students from private to public schools. Many middle-income families that cannot afford the high tuition in private schools are transferring their children to the public schools, which offer free tuition and books.”

He said DepEd’s own studies reveal that public schools nationwide are in decrepit
conditions. Some 80 percent of them have no running water, 60 percent have no toilets, 40 percent have no ceilings and 50 percent have no electricity.

Ramota said government misprioritization and poor education spending aggravated by rampant graft and corruption were to be blamed for worsening crisis in education.

In 2004, education spending dropped to 14.9 percent of the national budget from 19.3 percent in 1997 and it continued to decline ever since, he said. On the other hand, government spending on debt payments shot up from 15.9 percent in 1997 to almost 40 percent of the national budget at present.

He added that the Philippine government is spending only an average of 3 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product on public educational institutions. In 2003, the country spent a measly 3.3 percent for education. This pales in comparison to its neighboring countries Malaysia (7.4 percent) and Thailand (4 percent). It is also lower than the 4 percent average for all countries that were included in the World Education Indicators in 2006.

The minimum prescribed standard for education spending set by UNESCO is 6 percent of a country’s GDP.

Ramota said the Philippines is also lagging behind its Asian counterparts in public expenditure on education as a percentage of total public spending.

At all level s of education, the Philippines is only spending 17.2 percent compared to Thailand’s 40 percent and Malaysia’s 28 percent.

Translating this into expenditures per student, he said the same study shows that the Philippine education spending is still way below its Asian competitors.

The country spends 500, 505 and 1,717 dollars (purchasing power parity) for primary education, secondary education and tertiary education, respectively. The Philippines lags behind Malaysia (1,830, 2,920 and 10,792 dollars) and Thailand (3,442, 2,484 and 4,474 PPP dollars).

“The government has been formulating several education policies and programs with the aim of improving the quality of education in the country but it is missing the most important and decisive factor to meet this goal – spending more on education. Unfortunately, government spending on education has been the complete opposite in the past years.”

“Education is an avowed priority of the State but under the present administration, like its predecessors, it does not draw an ounce of sympathy from the authorities.”

The Kabataan Party and the National Union of Students of the Philippines urged lawmakers to maximize the remaining days of the 13th Congress by passing pending bills that seek to institute much needed reforms in the education sector.

Among the bills awaiting approval are the proposed moratorium on tuition and other fee increases and amendments to the Education Act of 1982 which placed private tertiary education in a deregulated environment, Kabataan Party President Raymond Palatino said.

“It’s high time that Congress starts to flex its muscles on unabated increases in tuition and other fees. Government’s tuition deregulation policy has resulted to skyrocketing tuition and miscellaneous fee hikes and caused the ranks of dropouts and out-of-school youth to swell for the past decade. ”

Palatino particularly emphasized the need to resolve the controversy created by the anomalous suspension of CHED Memorandum Order No. 14 or the guidelines for tuition and other fee increase applications and its subsequent amendments last February.

“We call on the lawmakers to investigate CHED and its officials for committing grave abuse of discretion and violating its own standard operating procedures when it hastily suspended the tuition cap amid ongoing tuition consultations.”

CHED Chairman Carlito Puno issued the memorandum suspending the tuition cap last February 20 days before the conclusion of regular tuition hike consultations in private colleges and universities.

Kabataan and NUSP earlier accused CHED of conspiring with the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) to lift the tuition cap to allow private school owners to increase tuition beyond the inflation rate.

Palatino also urged lawmakers to investigate schools that are charging dubious and excessive fees to students.

In 2003 alone, nine schools landed among the top 1,000 corporations in the country with a combined profit of P1.23 billion, he said, citing data from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“How was it possible for big private schools to rake in millions in profit while CHED’s guidelines only provide a 10 percent return of investment for imposed fee increases? School owners have certainly made a lucrative business out of tertiary education and CHED appears to be a willing accomplice.”

Meanwhile, Palatino said the next Congress should conduct a comprehensive review of existing education policies similar to the Education Commission of 1992.

“The recurring problems hounding the education sector should prompt lawmakers and education officials to assess the effectiveness and viability of existing policies and formulate new policies that are responsive to the needs of students, the academe and the local economy in general.”