How important is education?

Gratefully, some people back in early 1916 saw the need to establish a University of the Philippines in the south. Thus was born the University of the Philippines Cebu College eight years after UP in Manila.

Dr. Ambeth Ocampo’s reminder about the meaning of the historical marker that was unveiled at UP Cebu should be heard seriously especially by those who can truly make education a top priority not only for the Visayas but for Mindanao as well.

The historical marker serves not only to formally seal the transfer of ownership of the marker to UP Cebu from the National Historical Commission.

Ocampo stressed that the marker not only locates the historical value of UP Cebu. The marker should also serve as a constant reminder to all those genuinely interested in educating our people to persevere and continue the legacy of providing quality education to our youth.

Sadly, UP Cebu’s strategic location and importance has never been fully recognized. For that matter, the value of education has not been genuinely appreciated and supported, especially by the government.

Scholars are expected to serve the nation but until they graduate, they are expected to fend for themselves, to study hard and finish in 4 years, without any support given to most of them even in terms of lodging or tuition assistance. Roads,bridges and basketball courts seem to have been given more importance than schools and universities.

The presence of public universities in any region, on face value, is a witness about the concern and importance given by the government to constituents and their education. However, just like many white elephant structures left unfinished or abandoned, public schools and universities, beyond their inauguration, have been left literally on their own to stay alive and survive.

Year in and year out, state universities and colleges (SUCs) have had to struggle to convince legislators and government to provide adequate budget to continue to educate our youth, to continue to nurture the brains badly needed for nation-building, to continue to exist.

Year in, year out, their budget requests have been ignored, sliced, cut, reduced. Instead, legislators and government have preferred to fill their own belly with undeserved pork barrel!

Who do you think can be expected to make full use of the limited budget to promote the interests of our people, of our country? The academe or Congress?

The SUCs have their sterling performance of expertise and service to our people and our country to show as clear evidence of their responsible management of public funds. Do the legislators and other government officials have similar transparent records of public service and performance?

Senator Drilon’s demand for SUCs to open their books so the public will know that SUCs have their own savings and income to use even with less budget from Congress should be matched with public outcry for legislators themselves to immediately show our people where the huge pork barrel for them have gone. The same public demand should be directed as well to all government officials at all levels!

Secretary Abad should also explain why the budget of the state universities and colleges did not receive the same priority as the pork barrel of those in Congress! Did not this government run, during the last elections, on the promise to scrap the pork barrel? What happened? Why did Abad et al decide instead to slash the budget for SUCs?

P.Noy himself should see the genuine cry of the youth and the SUCs for him to realize as a historical reminder for him to fulfill his promise of change, for him to honor the youth that believed in him, for him to remember that it was the people that got him elected, not the Liberal Party that seems to be controlling his decisions nor Congress that seems to be controlling the decisions of the LP.

Education or pork barrel? Perhaps, those with pork barrel can be persuaded to annually provide a set percentage of their P70M pork barrel to support education and SUCs?

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