Raising the Standard of Corruption in the Philippines

(The Philippine Star)) May 12, 2014 EDITORIAL - Raising tuition "Like all services, education must adjust to inflation. Every year operators of private learning institutions seek an increase in tuition, citing higher prices of supplies and equipment, renovation and maintenance expenses, and the need to increase the pay of teachers and other school personnel. This year has been no different, with 353 colleges and universities all over the country applying for a tuition hike. Only schools in Eastern Visayas, which is still reeling from the destruction caused by Super Typhoon Yolanda, did not apply for a tuition increase, according to the Commission on Higher Education. While consumer prices have steadily gone up and teachers, like all salaried workers, are always hoping for higher pay, tuition increases can be tempered and schools must provide value for money. Education is one of the biggest expenses for a middle-class Filipino household. For most of the 40 percent of the population classified as poor or very poor, higher education is a luxury beyond their reach. Those who can afford to go to college or technical and vocational school must also grapple with the substandard quality of education provided in a number of institutions. Filipino seafarers, for example, face the prospect of being banned from all Europe-registered commercial vessels if the country’s maritime schools fail to pass another review in October for compliance with European standards. Thanks to substandard schools, there are still too many graduates who fail to pass professional licensure exams after spending their parents’ life savings on their college education. Previous attempts by the CHED to regulate substandard schools were stymied by politicians who owned the institutions or protected relatives and friends who owned such schools. The problem is most pronounced in learning institutions that are geared toward producing graduates for the overseas labor market. While charging tuition that millions of Filipino families consider to be a fortune, the schools pay little attention to international standards that graduates must meet to land a job abroad." Philippine Star, May 12, 2014 I said it before, I say it again: Instead of raising the standard of learning, what is only always raised is the standard of corruption for such commercial enterprises more known as schools, colleges, and universities in our country. Indeed, we are all born ignorant, not corrupt. In the Philippines, we are made corrupt by the power of education. Take a good look at all of our officials in the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of the government - they are all corrupt and even more corrupt than how education has already molded them! Poch Suzara Twitter@ Facebook# Google#