EDUCATION, one of the basic needs of every individual. It is provided by the government and is supposed to be free? I thought so. My mother is a secondary public school teacher for the last twenty five years. The public school students are composed mostly of middle to low class children of the society. Rich and well-off students may be present but seldom. For years, my mother has strived to be at her best and to promote education regardless of unavailability of the learning facilities. Books are not enough to provide reference to a classroom near close to a hundred of senior high school students. Since books are limited how much more are class rooms? The scarcity of facilities for education in the Philippine public schools has always been an underlying problem for what seem to me like forever. I attended my elementary education in a public school and was lucky enough to belong to a homogenous selection of what they called a SPED class where most of the books were provided. The school where I attended is located at the central district of our town. Being accessible to everything is just what made me luckier. Still, the school can’t provided the facilities that the students needed. I come to think of the schools that were far and beyond reach of civilization and modernization. Does their students ever got the chance to get lucky too? Afraid not.
photo credit: Google
This year, my mother has a total of seventy students trying to fit themselves in a regular size classroom with only 45 armchairs. How conducive is this set up for learning even if the students will sit on a mono-block-deskless-plastic chairs? I honestly don’t know.
Students and school administrations has to face lack of classrooms, books, chairs, visual aids and teachers for that matter. Each government administration come and promises hefty improvement in education but they just came to pass and nothing new is actually done. If there were improvements, it doesn’t compensate. The problem still persists. The deplorable conditions of most public schools in the country had exasperated and bothered many teachers. They are now questioning the effectiveness of their teaching since the classrooms do not provide a conducive place for learning. Do they have a choice? No, but to cramp 60-100 students in a room that is only supposed to seat 45-50 students. Can they control the enrollees? Yes, if they want to get sued and say goodbye to their profession. So, NO-It is against the law to turn down students who will enroll in public schools. So despite the overpopulation, the lack of facilities, teachers have to accommodate them.
The parents who wanted their children in a comfortable set-up turns to the option of enrolling them in a private school where everything needs to be paid.
As I am typing my Mom’s master list of her students for this school year, I wonder how many names will I get to type at end of the year for those who will successfully graduate.
Great post. The disparity between private and public education is a tragedy in many countries. Educators like your mom are heros
Thanks! It is a shame that a lot of opportunities for those children get out of their grasp because of the mere fact that the school alone cannot support. Thanks for dropping by!
Yes, everyone should be educated, and it is beyond tragic when a government fails in that.
Despite that, some of the students will be so driven to succeed, that even with the difficulties, they’ll push on and manage to learn.
And yay to your mother for her dedication!
Thanks EG, The students who believe that having less of whats needed is never a hindrance to achieve always ends up successful. If not now, they tend to get recognize someday somehow.