When is 'enough' really enough?

MANILA, Philippines - Budget cut - the act of reducing budgeted expenditures (www.thefreedictionary.com). A little more than a year ago, P1.39 billion has been slashed from UP’s budget. It was the fuse for a very wide protest by the state college’s students. The reduction did not only cause a strike, it also caused the loss of well-deserved education by some. Minds still fresh from the last cut, UP now faces another ‘carefully evaluated and studied’ budget diminution.

They say education is a right, a priority. It is one of the great promises candidates often offer. But how come they just snatch away a portion of the state colleges’ funds after they take the position they aimed for? Do they not realize that they, too, are taking away the only hope of good education for less fortunate people?

As a UP student, I side with the majority who firmly believe that we deserve much more than what they give. Better conditions are what we ought to have. Next, students are worthy of a bigger shot in the ever competitive world. Clearly, the budget cut isn’t the greatest idea they have. It only secures a more alarming rate of students who would not enroll in college anymore. If state colleges are one’s only hope of getting higher education at a reasonable cost, then they would probably be ready for a little disappointment coming their way.

I know it is not enough to be contented with ‘what is’ when we really know we can act to get ‘what should be’. I say we carefully draw the line between too much and enough. We owe ourselves the chance to be great and to be well-equipped for battle waiting for us in the real world. We deserve the knowledge that will make us a cut different from the rest. We are worthy of the chance of good education.