Education dilemma: two bookshelves for 200 pupils

My latest blog on The New Internationalist:

It was still dark when we started a six-hour drive to a public school somewhere in a province north of Manila. At about the same time, the little boys and girls of Longos Elementary School were probably on their way to school already.

A narrow unpaved road from one of the major highways in the province led to the school. Muddy rice fields lined both sides of the road. The air was fresh and crisp in this part of the country.

But there was nothing refreshing with what we saw.

As with most public schools in the Philippines, Longos Elementary School is in dire need of government attention, state funds and political will. While the condition of the buildings is relatively better than in other public schools in far-flung areas around the country, there is still a lot of improvement needed.

There were only two bookshelves in the library, with only a handful of books shared by almost 200 students. A tropical storm battered the province in 2009, leaving most of the books in the makeshift library drenched and damaged.

And there we were, four journalists representing the country’s organization of economic reporters and editors. Our daily grind of covering the economy consisted of interpreting financial statements, reading between the government’s fiscal data, understanding the budget, monitoring monetary policies and reporting the latest inflation figures, among other stuff.

But what we saw in front of us needed no interpretation or mathematical computation.

The situation was stark and telling. It was a vivid portrait of the economy.

The school building needed renovation. Some classrooms were dilapidated. And only two toilets were to be used in a school of 190 students.

School officials lamented the situation but were helpless about it. Politicians only visited them during campaign season but never returned to fulfill a single pledge when the elections were over, they said.

We brought three small boxes of second-hand books and a few bags containing school supplies. It was part of the organization’s regular outreach activities. Even if we wanted to bring more stuff, we had very limited resources. The supplies were probably all used up by the following week or so.

And even if there were a thousand more organizations such as ours, we still wouldn’t be able to fill the gap in the country’s public educational system.

What is needed is the government’s strongest political will to prioritize education. This means that every centavo earned from the taxes of the people would go to the necessary social services such as education and public health, and not pocketed by some corrupt politician, lawmaker or government official.

Until this happens, the country’s public education system remains as tattered and worn out as the blue and red Philippine flag that waived with the wind that Friday afternoon when we bid goodbye to the students of Longos Elementary School.

Photos by Jes Aznar

P6,604

I was beet red as I stood there in front of the bank teller, counting the last of my money. I needed to deposit P6,600 in my checking account. The day before I issued a check worth P6,600 as downpayment for my child's tuition.

For months, I prepared for tuition time but each time I am able to raise a significant amount, an equally important matter comes up. It's a never-ending list of expenses for a single mom like me who is trying to raise to the best of her ability a four-year old little lady.

And so there I was with P6,500. I was short by a hundred pesos. My two ATM cards had been wiped out. I turned my bag inside out searching for whatever money I could find. Every pocket was turned upside down in full view of the very patient bank teller.

Finally, I found a 50-peso bill here and two crumpled 20-peso bills there. I opened my coin purse to fill in the balance and after about 15 minutes inside the bank, I was able to fund my check.

My check will not bounce and my daughter will not lose her slot in the preschool that we applied for.

I left the bank feeling so frustrated. Why does tuition have to cost that much? Why do parents have to send their children to private schools? Why is the quality of public education in the Philippines so bad?

But after a few seconds of ranting, I realized that I and my little girl are still very lucky. Other mothers will not be able to send their children to school at all.

I long to see the day that every Filipino child will be able to go to school and have access to quality education.

For this to happen, every centavo paid by taxpayers must go to state coffers and not to the pockets of corrupt and greedy officials.

Now, that would be the day.