PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is doing the rounds of colleges and universities urging the youth to actively participate in May elections.
Arroyo visited the Holy Spirit College of Manila in Mendiola, the second in a series of campus tours which seeks to reach out to the youth. Her first stop was the Don Mariano Marcos State University in Batac, Ilocos Norte Wednesday.
Arroyo urged the youth to get more involved in the nation's affairs by helping ensure free, fair and non-violent elections.
"I want to instill in our youth pride in our nation and a desire to get involved in the civic life of their country. To that end, I call on the youth to help our society become more safe and less violent," she said.
Arroyo also advised them to finish their studies "because education is a ticket to a better life."
She said she has worked for a better education, as shown by the doubling of the budgets of the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education from P90 billion to P180 billion.
She said 100,000 so far additional classrooms have been built especially in far-flung barangays and cash allowances were given to poor families to encourage parents to send their children to school.
She said teachers were trained, especially in English, Math, and Science so they can prepare their students for global competition. (JMR/Sunnex)