|
BAGUIO CITY: Outlining his accomplishments in the
past 100 days of his administration, Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. on
Monday expressed his wish for a paradigm shift for Baguio City, as
he sees the tourist city transformed into a center for education.
This, as Bautista
said in his state of the city address that a well-educated Baguio
citizenry would translate to a better city in the future, especially
with a good number of its more than 300,000 population composed of
students.
He also enjoined
city officials and stakeholders to share with him the responsibility
of making sure that the local government is able to improve the
quality of education in Baguio during his remaining 990-plus days in
office.
“With your kind
indulgence therefore, allow me to declare the city of Baguio as the
center of education in the north,” he said.
Taking a cue from
his background in the academe as a teacher, he said that “the
paradigm shift is the most logical thing to do if we want the whole
of our constituency to learn to love their city more—now, up to
our centennial, and even beyond.”
Sensing possible
critiques from tourism advocates, Bautista explained that education
takes precedence over tourism in as far as the city’s mission is
concerned. Baguio is the country’s “Summer Capital” with
thousands of tourists visiting the city year round.
“To express this
logic more definitely: When we educate, we sow moral uprightness and
respect for the laws of our land. If we reap moral uprightness, we
sow better leaders. If we have right leaders who are endowed with
political will, we are sure to have that culture of significance and
impact that would place our city in a higher level in all respects,”
the mayor added.
It was reported
recently that there was a marked increase in the number of enrollees
in all levels coupled by the increase in school buildings.
The Department of
Education told this paper that this year’s enrollment in the
elementary level alone was 30,401 as of June 30.
--Harley Palangchao
|
