Sorry for the general statement about education in the provinces

I made a terrible mistake in my column last Monday.

In my article on Ronald Gadayan, the NAIA janitor who returned to the owner a pouch he found while he was cleaning the departure area in September 2012 containing some P2.4 million cash and valuables, I wrote about his concern about his children’s education.

Being a contractual employee at NAIA, he only earns P481 a day. He has three children, ages 12, 10 and 6. His wife is looking for a job to augment their income.

His children go to a public school in Bulacan. He said he is worried about his children’s future education and asked Education Secretary Armin Luistro for assistance. He said the education secretary told him that his children cannot qualify for scholarship because they are not “matalino.”

I said Luistro’s answer was harsh but he was just being honest. Scholarship grants, be it in public or private schools, require that the applicant pass an academic exam. To get into the University of the Philippines or any State University where tuition is not as high as in private schools, one has to pass an exam.

I wrote: “Gadayan’s problem for his children is the problem of many young people coming from poor families, who could only afford to go to public schools in the provinces where the quality of education is substandard. When they move on to higher education and they have to compete with others, the cards are stacked against them.”

That was bad. I generalized schools in the provinces which was wrong.

I revised that paragraph to read: “Gadayan’s problem for his children is the problem of many young people coming from poor families, who could only afford to go to public schools in the provinces where the quality of education in many areas leaves a lot to be desired. When they move on to higher education and they have to compete with others, the cards are stacked against them. “
It’s understandable that many criticized my original article. Eunice Jebulan commented in the ABS-CBN site: “Just to correct this biased article, schools from provinces are not substandard. Hindi ibig sabihin a nasa probinsya, malayo at may distansya sa Maynila ay hibdi na kalidad na edukasyon ang naibibigay. It is just the same education that students get. Iba iba lang ang forms and ang effects. ABS-CBN News, you have done the probinsiyanos wrong. Ilang beses na kayong nagpopost ng mga articles na mali-mali at hindi umaayon sa Requirements for Good Journalism. Ayusin niyo! You are losing your credibility!

Cristine Marquez said:”Schools in the province are not sub standard. Some are well known state universities. Para sa akin di naman talino sa libro nare-rate ang utak ng tao. Ang daming tinatawag na matalino.Wwala naman diskarte. Nagkataon lang na pinanganak na mayaman.Maraming kuneksyon. Madaming mahirap na matalino. Actually most are street smart and practical. Mas mataas ang common sense. Sana wag lahatin.”

Others pointed out the advantage of those in public school in the provinces where their classes are spread out the whole day unlike in Metro Manila where the schools are overcrowded, classes have to be crammed into half a day.
I agree with Eunice, Cristine and others who expressed similar sentiments. I am a product of a public school. I went to a barrio school: Guisijan Elementary School in Antique.

At the same time, I know very well the inadequacies of the public school system in the provinces especially in the remote barrios. During our time, we even had to bring our own chairs to school. Textbooks were very few, we had to take turns in bringing them home.

It was worse in schools in remote barrios where the teachers have to walk some two hours and cross rivers to get to the school. Usually the teachers hold classes only four days a week as they would start returning to the poblacion Friday.

Nowadays,computers are standard tools in many classrooms in progressive towns and cities. In know of many high school graduates in our place who do not know how to use the computer because they have not had the chance to learn how to use it in school.

The internet opens students to a world of knowledge. Internet service in our barrio is only available through pocket wifi. The schools have no internet service.

Prince Sipal knows very well this situation. He said: “I am a product of the public school system, ok lang sa amin na mag aral dito dahil masipag umalalay sa aming magkakapatid ang mga magulang namin dahil kahit sa bahay at pinagtityagaan kaming turuan ng aming mga magulang. But as an educator, malinaw na malayo sa kalidad ng pagtuturo ang mga public school teachers kumpara sa private schools. Sa public schools, pili lang ang mga sections na natuturuan ng maayos.

One commenter, Ako si Anne, raised a valid point how poverty affects a child’s education: “ Sometimes humihina ang ulo ng isang bata kpag kulang sa sustansya at sa pagkain ng tama. Sguro ng dahil sa kakapusan sa pera hindi gaano masustansya nakakain ng mga bata. Proper nutrition is needed kahit man lang sana sa pagkain ng mga bata sagutin ng may magandang puso para makapag aral ng maayus at lumabas ang tunay na talino ng mga anak nya ng makakuha ng scholarship. “

Again, I apologize.