Mass education and mass consumption

Title

Creator

Buan, Petronilo A.

Language

English

Source

Panorama Volume XIX (No. 12) December 1967

Year

1967

Subject

Mass instruction

Economic development

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

MASS EDUCATION AND MASS CONSUMPTION ^Mass education is adult and community education per se. It is an effort to make the people in general basically and functionally literate. Basic literacy is con cerned with the development of the ability to read and write. Functional literacy goes beyond basic literacy, enabling the individual to read with understanding, to write letters, compute in the mathematical processes, ac quire fundamental knowledge in health and citizenship, use his reading and writing skills to improve his social and eco nomic lifp. A functionally literate individual is an en lightened and well-informed person capable of participa ting in the affairs of the community/} (^Considering the present knowledge explosion brought about by new discoveries and advances in science and technology, the populace needs continuing education if it were to adjust itself in a fast changing economic and social environment, j. Mass education is the con cern not only of the schools but also of the homes, the churches, the radio and TV stations, the newspapers and book publishing houses, ci vic organizations and busi ness and commercial estab lishments. These agencies and institutions can dissemi nate knowledge and informa tion, a cursory analysis of the pamphlets, posters, cartoons, films, lectures and communi ty assemblies. In order to show the cor relation between mass edu cation and mass consump tion, cursory analysis of the Philippine economy should be made. £ The Philippines is blessed with rich natural resources, yet it has remain ed a developing country the past several years. Its eco nomic system is still under subsistence economy. The lack of concerted and effec 16 Panorama tive effort in mass education, explains why its natural re sources remain untapped. The people have not acquired the necessary vocational and technical education that would enable them to utilize fully the country’s natural resources. The Philippines exports raw materials such as logs, abaca, ore, copra and other products, only to import them in processed and ma nufactured forms. As a con sequence, the margin of pro fit is greater for the manu facturers than for those ex porting them in raw form. The implication of this ob servation is that [unless the human power resources are developed through education and training the country can not rise to greatness above the 1 degree of educational achievement level of its peo ple. Educated and trained individuals usually occupy key positions who serve as agents of development. In simple terms, mass education facilitates the entry of the people, young and old, .into productive employment. / The educational achieve ment level of the Philippines is low compared with more progressive countries. Stu dies on school dropouts point to the fact that almost half of the pupils enrolled in Grade I drop out after Grade IV. This means that the average Filipino is a grade fiver. In the rural areas, the figure is even more skew ed because the average rural folk is a third-grader. Based on a recent study in Rizal province, grade-pupils are still not functionally literate. In other countries, the edu cational achievement level is within the high school years. If one-half of the 33 mil lion Filipinos are not func tionally literate, there is need to exert more effort on mass education. Education of the masses, by all means, must be the concern of all, be they in the Government ser vice or in private life. C Some people live in af fluence, others live in desti tute and misery. What hap pens to the persons next to them, affects their life. #As such, the cleavage between the rich and the poor would lead to social unrest and un less a form of safety valve is applied, the situation may lead to an explosive point — that of unwarranted violence December 1967 17 The importance of mass education is made more im perative today than before in view of population and knowledge explosion. Eco nomists point out that popu lation growth exerts pressure on the economic resources of the country that deters economic development. By necessity, production and consumption must be equated in order to prevent social and economic dislocations^ Consumption of the bare necessities in foods and ma nufactured articles is on the minimum among the low-in come group. The figure on average family annual in come gathered from the Bu reau of Census and Statis tics as of 1961 is Pl,800. By computation, the monthly in come is P150 and the daily income is P5. If the average size of the family is six, each member has P0.83 for daily expenses. It should be mentioned that the figures refer to the average Filipino family or the middle income group. What about those who be long to the low-income brac ket such as the farmers and the laborers? The daily in come of these people would be obviously less than the average, an income in which it is not possible for the fa mily to have a decent house, presentable clothes, good food and adequate educa tion of the children. These are the people who cannot purchase some luxuries in life because of the high cost of living. The masses cannot afford to stay on a rut of ignorance and poverty for a long time. Society has the responsibili ty of helping the masses ex tricate the people from the bondage of want. Mass edu cation is a significant factor in narrowing the socio-eco nomic stratification in a so ciety. As the people are en lightened through mass edu cation, they will soon gain added vocational skills and brighter outlook in life. The consequence is increased in come and with increased in come, increased purchasing power follows. In addition, the increased purchasing po wer of the masses will sup port the industrial and com mercial establishments in the form of greater consumption. Therefore, economic plan ts Panorama ning should integrate educa tion in the facets of the na tional plan. Infrastructure and education should receive priority consideration if the country were to accelerate socio-economic development. The principle behind such plan should be that educa tion in an economic invest ment. Positive steps have to be taken to provide ade quate education for the mas ses today and several years hence. The more educated the masses, the higher the income level that will cer tainly increase production and consumption. — Petronilo A. Buan, Senior Execu tive Assistant, UNESCO Na tional Commission of the Philippines. BANKRUPTCY The following note was found among the effects of a businessman after his death. He had long been known for his frequent lapses into bankruptcy. “I hereby name the following six bankers to be my pall-bearers. Since they have carried me for so long during my lifetime, they might as well finish the job now.” December 1967 19

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