For the past century, the Philippines has long clamored for its universities and colleges to be top gunners in education in the Far East Asia. These institutions should be able to endow graduates with competence and global competitiveness. Graduate professionals who can have international recognition. From business and finance, to health and its allied sciences, the country is continuously proving its worth in these fields. However just recently, a report regarding the demand for Chinese and Indian workers at the west exposed that there number has considerably increased by tenfold compared to the last decade. Has our country’s education system lost its grandiose promise of a better tomorrow? Has the public school system’s current status and the huge decline of student enrollees around the country greatly affected the system?
My friend once said that struggle and strife comes before success, so one must climb the mountain’s top in order to go the distance. The quality of education provided by different schools may be questionable; however, the quality of students is of more concern as it has grown far worse.
I see many students indulging themselves in vices such as cigarette smoking and alcohol up to the extent that they have taken their studies for granted. A survey conducted by Trends MBL in 2007 revealed that 12% of the youth in Metro Manila and 20% in Mindanao admitted that they have tried prohibited drugs. Smoking is yet another poison corrupting our Filipino students and their health as well. Filipino students when asked if they have smoked in the past 30 days answered in the affirmative. The results revealed that 1 in every 15 students did.
Aside form these vices are the small number of students who enter college. Out of the 6 million students who entered high school in 2007, only 2.4 million or 60% enrolled in college. More so, the survival rate from 1st year to 4th year was only 63.88%, and completion rate was even lower – only 58.62%. On the other hand, college dropouts accounted for 73% of the Filipino college entrants (Where is our Filipino Youth Going: Rolando Cruz, The Feedback Vol. XXIII no 1).
Has the academic quality of students gone to the abyss? Learners always blame the school’s administration and their teachers - but whatever happened to the so-called “student factor.” Indeed, the teachers, the administration, and other non-teaching personnel of the school must go hand-in-hand and side-by-side if you will – when it comes to providing paramount quality of education – beyond classroom instruction, that is. However, students must do their equal share to realize the goal of education and that is beyond thoughts alone. Studying and trooping to the libraries is one great exercise not only for the brain cells but is also one preventive measure against satisfying impulsive desires. Great huh?
I have seen the majority of the student populace as mall rats and net savvy bloggers, spending all their time into marginal activities that will neither boost their academic standing nor their lives. All it gives is petty satisfaction. Seat with a book on your lap, instead of that FHM and a bottle of your favorite booze. Skip the bar hopping nights and the I’m-going to-get-so-drunk evenings – read Brunner instead. There is nothing wrong with these activities; however, spending too much time and effort on these things is quiet preposterous!
My mom’s age-old lessons of gratifying yourself with your books, indulging with the many lessons your teachers can impart to you, and learning form other people’s experiences as you make you own are until now unquestionable. Clearly, there is nothing wrong with night outs with your friends or a well deserved vacation at some remote island. It is ok to reward yourself once in a while especially after a hard day’s work though, as the theory of positive reinforcement suggests. But, let’s not forget the second part of the theory – punishment. Drop the stick that you’ll puff when you fail a quiz or spend all night studying for a quiz you need to make up for. Things should work this way – in balance and moderation.
I will not deny myself of the guilty pleasures I have, but I will not deny myself of a better future. Education is an avenue of life, it’s the great equalizer, rich and poor alike are provided the same opportunities – we are on the same playing field. Education benefits us by providing a chance to improve the general quality of life. I will not lament nor cry on the nights of bar and drinks some of my friends have asked me to, but I’ll grieve for the time they have wasted. Regret hits you in the end!
Listen to the numerous success stories of some of the rich and the famous. Now, our job is to study. After graduation? We have the rest of our lives’ to party. Definitely, struggle and strife comes before success, even in the dictionary
