Undeserving

For the opening of classes, I skipped the usual routine of checking schools and went on a little adventure to the town of Liloan. It was nothing unfamiliar to me, as I repeatedly visited the place during the aftermath of Typhoon Tino. Visiting it today was rather hopeful, as I saw young students walk through the gates and enter their school. They were smiling, eager to start the school year after months of modular learning due to the effects of the typhoon on their school. While I do feel their positive vibe, a part of me says that they did not deserve what they went through in the previous year.

That year was marked by shady flood-control projects that did not function as they were supposed to. We saw the structures either too thin or too weak-- that could not accommodate the huge volume of water rushing down from above. The water flowed into classrooms and reached heights higher than an average Filipino. Some teachers shared how fortunate it was that the flooding happened on a non-school day. Had it occurred while classes were ongoing, the consequences could have been far worse. Still, they did not deserve any of it.

The students continue to reel from the effects of the typhoon. A heavy downpour would trigger their senses, bringing them back to that uncertain time. Lives were lost and properties were damaged. The trauma remains, even if the floodwaters have long subsided. Over in Mindanao, we see students in agony as they try to navigate through a real-life earthquake drill. It was supposed to be a great first day of the academic year, but it became one that they will never forget. While we cannot predict earthquakes, I can still say that we owe our students something better. We deserve better for the future of our generation.

I wonder what it would take for the government to expedite what is needed by our education sector. Every year, we face the same problems --lack of classrooms, underpaid teachers, declining literacy rates, and so on. There never seems to be a strategic way to address these issues, and yet we are constantly presented with new plans such as implementing a trimestral scheme. It truly makes us question what the real priorities of this administration are. While reforms are always welcome, they should not come at the expense of solving the most basic and recurring problems that continue to plague our schools.

Tomorrow is only the second day of classes, and teachers will still be accommodating last-minute registrants. From an educational standpoint, our students deserve only the best. They cannot be left trying to second-guess what kind of learning experience they are going to receive throughout their years of basic education. It is the government's responsibility to provide them with quality education, as they are the ones poised to bring the country to greater heights in the future. If we truly believe that the youth are the hope of the nation, then we must stop treating their needs as secondary concerns.