ACTIVIST youth group Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (Spark) mobilized in front of the Department of Education (DepEd) main office in Pasig on Friday, July 19, 2024, to call on newly appointed Secretary Sonny Angara to reject the implementation of neoliberal measures in the Philippine education system.
This includes foreign ownership of higher education institutions in the proposed Marcos Charter Change in the run up to the State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 22.
Angara, a key ally of the Marcos administration, is set to take over the reins of DepEd after his appointment by the President.
During his tenure as senator, Angara supported neoliberal reforms to the education system, strengthening the position of private education proprietors in the country.
“Angara’s track record in legislature, particularly in the education sector, has only exacerbated the crisis by deregulation and privatization. Together with his push for Charter Change, he continues to be responsible for the dismal state of the nation: the systematic deprivation of public services to millions of Filipinos, especially the youth,” said John Lazaro, Spark national coordinator.
The group emphasized the shortcomings of past administrations’ education policy forcing students and their parents to contend with yearly tuition and other fee increases, poor infrastructure and facilities, and greater precarity for teachers and other workers in the education sector.
“Rather than create an education system that can guarantee a sustainable future for Filipino youth, the current regime seeks to churn out students into meek sheep for the benefit of their allied local and foreign businesses. With the impending Charter Change, that process will only be made much easier given the proposed foreign encroachment in higher education,” asserted Lazaro.
Spark emphasized the need to establish free, accessible, quality, and safe education across the country, toward students’ complete and holistic development.
The group also rejects the current overtures for the Marcos’ Charter Change in anticipation of the Sona as a brazen attempt to further liberalize the Philippine economy, to the detriment of the youth and the working class.
“Elite interest has already resulted in an education crisis. Surely, Angara must be aware of how much it can worsen should foreign proprietors enter this system. Enabling them to do so only means he is truly willing to sell millions of Filipinos’ futures away,” Lazaro said. (PR)