June in the Philippines is traditionally the start of the school year.
And not even the current power struggle in the Senate could dampen the enthusiasm of students, parents and teachers who are now excited to resume another year of learning.
But not even the cheerful faces of the teachers and parents who volunteered in this year's Brigada Eskwela can mask the awful truth about the state of our country's education sector.
The truth is that our education sector is nearing a stage of comatose, if we may borrow a medical term.
Here's just a few statistics that dramatically illustrate how badly our education system has declined in past years: according to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), 87 percent of Grade 11 students are non-independent readers.
This meant that these students “eventually find difficulty explaining what they just read.”
Data collected by EDCOM II also showed that many of our young learners remain unable to read by Grade 3, while across grade levels, one in four students struggles with reading.
Imagine that: a youth who cannot read, much less comprehend what they are reading.
The simple truth is that while our lawmakers bicker over legal technicalities and stage power struggles, our underpaid and overworked teachers are forced to pay out of their own pockets for the necessary equipment for their students.
Parents are increasingly finding it difficult to cope with a tanking economy and rising inflation as they continue to provide their children with the school basics.
This alarming decline in our youth’s cognitive skills is a symptom – and the consequence – of our country fast-accelerating towards a “failed state.”
This is a symptom – and the consequence – of the trillions of pesos that should’ve been earmarked in improving the lot of our ordinary citizens, lost in the pockets of greedy politicians.
This is a symptom – and the consequence – of the callous indifference of our officials who are now too cooped up in a drama of self-preservation and political survival, who are now willing to jump from a proverbial sinking ship to preserve their fortunes.
This is a symptom – and the consequence – of a political system that has become so rotten to the core that it can no longer commit to a promise of a better life for all Filipinos.
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