| Back-to-School Youth |
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If things go as planned by the Department of Education, classes on the national level should start by June 1st, which falls on a Monday. Private schools are normally prepared for the invasion of young militants determined to establish a beachhead on the field of learning. But those who are enrolled in public schools are not as fortunate. In many areas of the country, classrooms are lacking, not to mention those that are in dismal conditions. Teachers are lacking too. And so are books that need to be shared in some instances by more than two students. To say the least, many schools that we have are far from being considered conducive to learning. By some stroke of sheer luck, there are schools considered not at all conducive to learning that manage to put forth a student or two qualified to compete with those who were far luckier to receive education in an institution that is truly conducive to learning. I have nothing but admiration for those rare students who manage to come out as satisfactorily educated despite the lack of needed facilities and tools to proper educationIf you visit the public schools in Paniqui, you will find out that most of them may not be as bad as the schools in other municipalities. You may even consider some of them luxurious if you compare them to other schools in some far-flung provinces ravaged by typhoons. But this is not to say that our local schools are structures for learning that we can crow about. Mayor Dors Rivilla realizes this. From Day 1 of his administration, education has taken a lion’s share of the total local development budget. Nonetheless, what it amounted to is never enough. It has to be supplemented with donations of cash and goodies from both local and foreign donors. Still, the combined appropriation and donations are insufficient to bring the municipality of Paniqui closer to the Mayor’s dream of having enough classrooms that are decent, a complete set of books for each student, a computer for each classroom, and teachers that are properly motivated and remunerated.
While the visionary Mayor toils to fulfill his dream, here’s a piece of advice to you young students who are about to go back to your schools. Consider every school opening as a significant event. Every beginning is exciting. Always bear in mind your reason for going to school: to learn. The condition of your school may be far from being ideal. But do not let this reality distract you from your goal of being there. One day you will move to the big colleges, perhaps in Manila. Consider each day in your present school as a day of preparing yourself for the big school, for the bigger things ahead of you. For comments / reactions, please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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