Ang Komersyalisasyon ng Edukasyon

Totoo naman na komersyalisado na ang edukasyon. Nakapagtataka lang na isa pa rin itong konsepto na hindi tuwirang kinikilala ng mga administrador ng mga kolehiyo at unibersidad.

E totoo naman na nagmumukhang tindahan ng mga diploma ang mga kolehiyo, di ba?

Mula sa arkayb ng aking mga artikulo sa isang pangkolehiyong pahayagan na aking sinusulatan dati --



FOR SALE

The very existence of working students affirms that education is a commodity. Students work their bodies and brains out just to buy a unit of this precious commodity. They sacrifice the present for an insured future.

But their sacrifices all go down the drain. After graduation, they get jobs totally out of sync with what they have faithfully studied for in college. Jobs that even a high school graduate can do.

All for naught, for something they have almost died to buy.

Education is a right, not a privilege -- the cry of the student sector for almost two decades. Since the Education Act of 1982, life has never been the same for the public high school graduate who wants to enter college. To study, one has to work. And usually, the working student not only works for himself/herself, but also for the family.

Some working students are lucky to have sympathetic bosses. What about the others? Tied to shifting factory schedules, to strict company policies about attendance, to low wages -- how can a student keep up without almost dying?

And that's half of the trouble. What about school? Terror teachers? High fees? Who gets the beating? Who gets lost? Who loses?

An appalling world this is. No wonder many resort to drugs and suicide just to get out.

Education is a right, not a privilege. In the light of endless tuition fee hikes, we only have to wonder where's the government in all of these.