|
By James Konstantin Galvez Reporter
AMID groans of parents who are
now readying their children to go back to school in June, an
activist student group on Monday projected that the dropout rate
will drastically increase for 2008-2009 due to continuing increases
in the price of basic commodities, including that of school fees.
In a statement, the militant
League of Filipino Students (LFS) stressed that the increase in the
dropout rate will mean that more students will be forced out of
school, a situation it calls as PMA or Pahinga Muna Anak (Rest
awhile, child) or Pangkain na lang muna, anak (Let’s have
something to eat first, child.)
Citing official statistics, LFS
said in a statement, “the enrollment rate has been at a steady
decline under Arroyo’s government. From 1995 to 2002, enrollment
grew at a rate of 1.98 percent. Since 2003 to 2007, it has dropped
to 0.97 percent. We expect this figure to drop dramatically this
year due to the crisis.”
Many parents might not be able to
enroll their children in the coming school year as price increases
are also expected to raise the costs of sending young people to
school.
LFS National Chairperson Vencer
Crisostomo said that while tuition may be free in public schools, it
still takes around P15,000 to P20,000 to send a student to a public
elementary or high school for a whole school year, considering
school fees, transportation, food and other expenses.
This figure is even expected to
rise as costs of basic commodities are constantly increasing.
“Parents are now being forced
to choose between sending their children to school, or spending that
amount to buy rice and other necessities. This is apart from the
fact that school fees are also on the rise due to lack of budgetary
allocation,” he added.
“If the government does not
properly address the current crisis, more parents and students might
be forced to drop out of schools,” the LFS said.
According to LFS, the dropout
rate is already a cause for alarm, as only 60 percent of those who
enter grade one finish basic education and 40 percent finish high
school. While 20 percent of those who enter elementary get to enroll
in college, only half of this number or 10 percent of those who
originally entered elementary get to receive a degree.
“With the current crisis and
the continued lack of government response, we can expect these
figures to go up this coming school year. The Arroyo government has
made education less accessible to Filipinos,” said Crisostomo.
|
