No simple problem – Philippine education
Media
Part of Panorama
- Title
- No simple problem – Philippine education
- Creator
- Roces, Alfredo R.
- Language
- English
- Year
- 1966
- Rights
-
- Abstract
- From Manila Times, March 20, 1966.
- Fulltext
- NO SIMPLE PROBLEM - PHILIPPINE EDUCATION The statye of education in this country is not a piece meal problem one can dis sect. Legislators have tried to solve our problems in edu cation by passing laws with confusing results. And how often have educators talked about the neglect of science or the need for buildings and textbooks, all in vain? The state of education is impos sible to discuss apart from the entire milieu of Filipino society. We have to view the nation as a whole, and then look at the sad state of edu cation to arrive at a irjore accurate autopsy. One can not segregate the influence of politics, of business in terests, of communications media, of student concept of education, of the character of teachers in this country, and of the power elite that molds, and holds sway over the shape of education in the Philippines. A look at the pattern of various disturbances in the field of education show that it is just not possible to con sider the problems purely as one of education. There has been, for example,.much talk about diploma iriills but this is related to the student population explosion, the failure of the government and existing authentic pri vate institutions to respond to this phenomenon, and the distorted social concept of what education is in terms of diplomas. Education be ing the only channel avail able for social mobility, the social class structure has to be considered in the problem of diploma mills. Similarly, the scandals on cheating at government exams are inex tricable from government graft arid misconception of education; and when is a school an educational institu tion, and when a business establishment? 4 Panorama L,et us take the case of teachers forming unions and of their going on strike, as has been the case in the past and is a problem right now in one institution. Could one segregate this conflict and call it a labor-manage ment problem, stripping it completely of educational aspects? And how does one even discuss the educational significance, when the forces that will ultimately deter mine the conflict will be the various power influences of our society — whether poli tical leaders, the courts of justice, the press, the educa tors, or public opinion? In the case of the strike going on at FEU, for example, should not education have a voice through highly respect able and objective and im partial mediators? This is not the case, and so we have instead lawyers and labor bosses, while newsmen are strangely silent, more con cerned it seems with a sex scandal in the CIS. • * • Within our present society, when principles are challeng ed in a specific crisis at a specific time and place, the reason for action will inva riably turn out to be that one rallied to the call of a relative or to acknowledge utang-na-loob to a powerful patron without looking at the issues and judging the case on its merits. The real struggle going on in the I'ilipino society is that of the in dividualist who stands on his own merits, his work and his talents, versus those who have to cling to one another to protect their own incom petence and their own fear in the old feudal type so ciety. — Alfredo R. Roces, Manila Times, March 20, 196& March 1966 5