Occupy Classroom

There is a current wave in the US and Europe wherein people chanted to occupy wall street to express their anger on the excesses of capitalism. Their actions were the result of seething anger due to excessive greed and profit of capitalism.

In the Philippines, the movement should be occupy classroom. There is now a huge gap between the poor and the rich in the access of quality education. The average tuition fee in a private tertiary education cost around P35,00-55,000 per semester. . Even in the premier state run university the tuition fees go as high as P20,000 per semester. When you add the students allowance, dormitory and daily expenses, the cost becomes prohibitive to the majority of the Filipinos

We are in the brink of creating a society where people are less skilled and where drop-outs are familiar stories. We are teetering toward a failed state.

To reverse this, the government should invest more and deliver more funds to our Basic Education. Specifically from kinder to Grade 6 where the love of knowledge and the acquisition of skills are critical  The result may not be quick but it can reverse the backward trend engulfing all of us.

Then strengthened the high school by offering math and science courses that will prepare them to take courses that will help the country to manufacture goods for the locals and for the foreigners to buy.

A country without a competitive manufacturing sector has no comparative advantage.

The only way to go up is to create things we will use and foreigners will buy. This is the only method to create jobs, opportunities and wealth for the majority. The current state of the country, where OFW remittance and service sector such as BPO, are the only factors that oiled our economy is not sustainable in the long run.

We need to occupy classroom by investing more to the education of our youth and the saving grace will be math and science.