Vox Populi

ksantiago@theguidon.com

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) stated in a report released a year ago that almost 50% of the country’s working students do not get to finish college. The factors that are believed to have contributed to this statistic include poor health, difficulty in coping with studies and the lack of financial stability due to insufficient income. For a country like the Philippines, which has been struggling with even the most basic of needs, it comes as no surprise that issues along these lines arise from the cycle of our educational system.

Having been a regular student all my life, I never really thought about how the situations of working students are. I knew that it was a struggle to undergo such a challenging set-up, but at the same time, all I thought in my mind was that they needed it and there was no choice. This insight, however, took a 180-degree turn when I found myself in the same picture. Sure, it really is essential to survive – but that part of having no choice? There must be a better solution.

Due to schedule constraints, I had to take classes alongside my internship to avoid delaying my program of study. Juggling time in my Makati office and rushing to Katipunan for meetings and classes afterwards seemed like an easy feat at first, but it eventually took a toll on me after a week of the tiresome routine. I could have easily gotten out of my situation and given up, but at the end of the day, it always boiled down to a simple “kailangan eh.”

Away from the sheltered confines of the Ateneo, I began to learn how the real world works—the long office hours, the demands of a publication, the stress that comes with getting by through public transportation and the eventual surrender of your immune system because there is just too much to handle. This isn’t really anything compared to what other “working students” go through, but my experience sure can fill the void that kept me from fully understanding the difficulties and perils of such a situation.

Recent arguments in congress debate about the lack of budget for the education sector—there is a lack of funds to hire new teachers, to fix facilities and to procure the materials needed to sustain a holistic learning environment. By looking at the bigger picture, though, one would see that the problems in education also stem from the lack of job security and labor protection in the Philippines. Take for example the Occupy protests being staged by farmers in Mendiola, or the occasional flaring up of the PAL–Palea dispute. The children of those suffering from the unfair labor practices—from the farmers to the flight attendants—are forced to resign themselves to the country’s crisis-hit education system, since they have no other means to support their schooling.

The possibility of not even being able to finish school is a hard pill to swallow, but that is a risk every average Juan dela Cruz might come face to face with. The road to a bright future comes with all these pitfalls, and this sadly something he must surpass and conquer, armed with nothing but ambition.