education and the problems of today - bu presentation
TRANSCRIPT
Student Council Alliance of the Philippines www.scapnational.wordpress.com [email protected]
Philippine society remains a
feudalistic order, marked by
sharp concentrations of
wealth, power, and privilege
at the top, and insecurity,
poverty, powerlessness and dependence at the base.
We are ranked as one
of the most corrupt
countries in the world.
Our politics is
dominated by big
businessmen, clans,
and traditional political
families.
Education to the
RESCUE!
“Young people are the
hope of the motherland.”
Schools have failed time and again to become
more than instructional sites or reproduction
centers of labor force.
Thesis:
The education system, the way we run them presently, becomes part of the problem, instead of a solution. There is a need to reform the education system.
Source: Freedom from Debt Coalition
Government Expenditures 1987-2006 (in billion pesos)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
19
87
19
88
19
89
19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06
Aquino Ramos Estrada Arroyo
Debt Service (Interest plus Principal)
Education
Health
Social Security
The State, through its funding policies, has continuously relegated the importance of providing free and quality education.
EDUCATION AND STUDENTS’ WELFARE:
AGAINST ALL ODDS
SUC Budget 21 B pesos
PDAF 24 B pesos 3 B pesos higher Debt service (principal)
466 B pesos 442 B pesos higher
Debt service (+interest)
750 B pesos 729 B pesos higher
EDUCATION AND STUDENTS’ WELFARE:
AGAINST ALL ODDS
SUC Budget 21 B pesos
BU Budget 383 M pesos
Bicol University budget
<
pork barrels of 4 senators
Brent High School
Tuition Fee:
P/ 341,000.00
Miscellaneous Fees:
P/ 245,300.00
Student to Teacher Ratio:
9:1
-Brent Manila website
Philippine Private School
Philippine Public School
In Udalo Elementary
School at Lanao del Sur,
there is only one (1)
classroom available for
647 students.
-2010 data, GMANews.tv
The Capitalist Formula for Education
Education is designed
as a competition to get
ahead of others.
= enormous
wealth + a big
company
The Capitalist Formula for Education
Mr. Corporate and Industry-Driven Individual
The Capitalist Formula for Education
• Reinforcement of Gender
Roles
• Standardized
• Undemocratic and
Abusive
• Reinforcement of Apathy and
Neutrality
• Proliferation of Charity
• Individualism
If at situations of injustice you remain neutral, if an
elephant’s foot is on a mouse’s tail and you say that you
are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality”.
-Desmond Tutu
SCHOOLS SHOULD BE: SCHOOLS BECOME:
>> political and cultural centers (provides an environment for independent thought) >> breeding ground for critical thinking (necessary in becoming an active citizen for personal development and nation-building)
>> diploma mills / profit oriented (vocational and technical schools banking on Nursing, HRM, or IT courses) >> undemocratic and abusive (discrimination against unmarried pregnant women and homosexuals)
STUDENT COUNCILS BECOME: SCHOOL PAPERS BECOME:
>> breeding ground not for genuine student leaders (pro-students’ rights and welfare) but opportunists (position-oriented and award-seeking; TRAPO) >> event organizers limited to mundane projects (clean and green, concerts, feeding programs) in expense of real functions (tuition-monitoring, agenda-building)
>> biased and censored ; away from genuine journalism (vanguards of TRUTH) >> accountable to envelopmental media in the future
Because of the lack of democratic spaces:
We cannot solve the problems of today by the same
minds that created them.
-Albert Einstein
“The STRAW Bill is a document which
guarantees the political and civil liberties of the
Filipino student”.
SCAP leaders during the filing of the STRAW Bill with Rep. Hontiveros, Sept. 17, 2007
HB 2190 has gone through in-depth consultations nationwide among different student councils/ governments and youth organizations. The bill is a product of thorough discourse among student and youth leaders.
What are our guaranteed rights as Filipino students?
Consistent with the 1987 constitution, the STRAW Bill ensures the basic and fundamental rights of students as Filipino citizens.
>> to admission, non-discrimination, and quality education >> to organize and establish their own student council/government and/or organizations >> to participate in policy-making processes >> to free expression and information >> to exercise their academic freedom >> to due process in disciplinary proceedings >> to privacy (against unreasonable searches and seizures) >> to be secured within school premises
Simple rights. Fundamental rights.
If, at a young age, citizens do not understand the value of democracy and representation, the Philippines will have all the formal democratic structures without the culture necessary to animate it.
Why do we need to guarantee these rights?
No policy currently exists that can sufficiently
and satisfactorily guard our students from
possible exploitations.
tuition increase | campus militarization | media censorship | forced disappearances | lack of representation | gender discrimination
Why do we need to guarantee these rights?
tuition increase | campus militarization | media censorship | forced disappearances | lack of representation | gender discrimination
“Education should encourage free and critical thinking which could help in molding and crafting new ideas and means that could later contribute to genuine national development”. Gio Tingson National Chairperson Student Council Alliance of the Philippines
Is the bill set against university administrators?
NO. The bill actually
recognizes the role of all stakeholders in the whole educational system.
Is the bill set against university administrators? NO.
The bill provides mechanisms for checks and balances in all university processes.
Can the bill be circumvented and utilized against students?
NO. This bill likewise empowers the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to become more than
monitoring institutions.
Can the bill be circumvented and utilized against students? NO.
The bill empowers CHED and TESDA to render judgment and execute necessary administrative punishments or make essential recommendations in the Department of Justice or Office of the President for prosecution of any offending party which/who has violated any provision in the bill.
Why do we need to support the bill?
Because this is a concrete step to address the perennial problems in the education system.
Why do we need to support the bill?
This is OUR proposal. This is OUR bill.
