The Philippine economy grew. The darling of investors.
If only every Filipino knows what that meant, we all should be happy. But not everyone knows and if the status quo continues, every Filipino will become oblivious in a generation or two.
I do not know what the current government experts, the think-tank thought and what did they propose when the President expressed his quandary but I think actions towards the unchecked price of quality higher education should be part of it.
Why?
How can one enjoy the benefits of the economic gains when the inputs used to perform these economic activities means that a family must have at least, for now, PhP 1 million to send one child to earn his higher education?
How many Filipino families can afford to do that? And even if the financial criteria has been met, are the professors able to waddle through the emotional and psychological baggage these kids carry for growing up in a household where only a single parent is present?
And why is there only a single parent? It is because the other one is an OFW. He is one because to raise his family in his motherland, means he has to find work where his skills are appreciated and paid what it is due. This work does not exist in the Philippines. It exists somewhere else.
Whatever it is that we celebrate now is not sustainable if we are biased towards having an education system that is designed for pure profit as the way moving forward. Because, by design, that education system will become more exclusive in every annual iteration. The costs will always increase as it is driven by the double-edge sword called inflation. So to meet the profit numbers, for profit-educators will increase tuition fees or they cut on cost by putting the implementation of learning management systems on steroids.
All of these is fair in love and war if the Philippines actually have a robust welfare system that softens the blows of these systemic sways but we do not have. These system will breed anger. Disenfranchisement. Or faith in God :- )
One can argue that one does not need to have a college degree to play in these economic wind. For one, a person can put up a street food cart in front of the tall buildings where BPOs congregate or put up a laundry shop for the modern vampires. But if we accept this, then we should also shut our mouths when the foreign press writes editorials and stories that we are a land of domestic managers. Always taking. Never making. Never creating. Never developing.
This, I think, is the reason why unemployment remains the same even if the GDP numbers grew. The hypothesis of trickling down will only happen if the channel where the economic gains should flow or pass has been laid out. And that channel is called inclusive quality education.
I sure that the programs the Cabinet put forward has more short-term gain flavor than long-term. That's what happens when politics eats, swallows and spits out what is best in us.
"... why think like mere men?"
