In a speech before the graduating students of Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College in Istancia, Iloilo, Padilla said higher education system is a key player in the integral formulation of professionally competent, service-oriented, principled and productive citizens.
"In a Third World country such as ours, education especially tertiary schooling becomes a prime mover of the nation’s socio-economic growth and sustainable development," he said, emphasizing college’s tri-fold function of teaching, research and extension services.
Citing a report made by educator Dr. Adrian Arcelo and published recently by ALG Research and Development, Padilla said that the more a person is educated, the better his chances are of earning a higher income than those with lower schooling.
"The report shows that a college graduate has an income five times higher than a person without schooling at all," Padilla said.
The House oppositionist said that government should allot a substantial budget for education noting also that the budget pie for state universities and colleges (SUCs) is getting smaller every year.
"While we understand that government’s priority is the development of basic education, we would also like to stress the importance of higher education since it is recognized as an effective tool to alleviate poverty," Padilla stated.
He said that he is concerned with the fact that SUCs not only resort to embarking on income generating projects but also seek to remedy the situation by implementing cost cutting measures that tend to sacrifice the quality education which also results in cutting down the number of students.
"It really is lamentable that students from poor families who rely on SUCs for their college education are being turned down only because the SUCs are getting lesser and lesser funds. This reflects the anti-poor attitude of the present administration," Padilla stressed.