Thursday, June 12, 2008 Editorials: As another school year rolls
SECRETARY Jesli Lapus, as Department of Education (DepEd) head, was not expected to say something negative about last Tuesday's opening of classes.
And in fairness to him, the opening of classes can be said to be generally peaceful and orderly, although that is often the case almost every year.
There is no denying, however, that beneath the veneer of calm that Lapus noted is the fact that many problems are still hounding the country's education system.
These problems, which are as much the concerns of DepEd as the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), will become more obvious if the economic crunch worsens.
Rising cost
Even as President Arroyo and DepEd are trying to pull down the cost of sending children to school, for example, private schools are continuing to hike tuition yearly.
Ched has been helpless, or pretended to be one, in reining in these educational institutions, citing the rules and reality: private schools are motivated by profit.
Thus, as the cost of private education spiraled, more and more parents are placing their hopes of providing education to their children on public schools.
That put added burden on government and DepEd, what with the rise in student population in public schools jacking up spending for teachers, facilities, etc.
This does not even consider the number of children who have been forced to stop schooling in all levels this year because of financial difficulties.
Challenge
Of course, other woes have come into play because of this reality, the most visible being the continuing dip in the quality of education in the country.
Lapus may therefore have been upbeat about the successful opening of classes last Tuesday but the bigger challenge for government and DepEd for this year may have just started to present itself.
And the challenge is how to make the public school system live up to the expectations of parents who are increasingly turning to it because of the current economic slump.
