Cebu youth groups to march for education

CEBU CITY -- Youth groups here will march for their right to education Tuesday, July 17.

The march, dubbed the “Cebu Youth Day of Protest,” will be held just days before President Benigno Aquino III's State of the Nation Address (Sona) on June 23, to show the state of the youth sector.

The action is spearheaded by Kabataan Partylist Cebu, National Union of Students of the Philippines, College Editors Guild of the Philippines, League of Filipino Students, Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante UP, and Anakbayan. Students from different schools in Cebu will join the march.

The groups said education has become more inaccessible during Aquino's administration, citing government policies that signal “commercialization and state neglect.”

"For the longest time, education has not been the priority of the government. State universities and colleges are constantly suffering budget cuts; and worse, different schools both public and private are increasing their tuition every year," said Niño Olayvar, Anakbayan vice-president for the Visayas.

The groups also opposed the K to 12 program of the Aquino government.

"With the implementation of the K to 12 program, many are forced to drop out of school," said Debbie Sagarino, Kabataan Partylist Cebu coordinator.

"If the problem they are trying to address is the low quality of education, then why should it be solved by adding more years? They should first address the present inadequacies before they decide to expand its years," Sagarino added.

The groups will demand an increase in the budget, improvement of facilities, and the scrapping of the K to 12 program. They will assemble at the Cebu Normal University and march to Metro Colon. (Alya Simone I. Mongaya/Contributor)