By Jick K. Iñgan(Vol. XXVI No. 5, Editorial Cartoon)
The hike is noted to be the fastest rate recorded in the past 14 years which is said to be due largely to the substantial increase of rice and other food products. For the price of rice alone, it zoomed up by 43 percent which means that a rice consumer which allocates P100 in June last year had to spend up to P143 in June this year. The same thing with the prices of other food products included in the Filipino consumer basket which hopped by 17.4 percent.
Basing it on the report, the costs of living these days are indeed racing in zooming up and the bad thing about it is that, while it continually soars, the living of Filipino people is pushed downward and little by little buried into the ground. Most Filipinos remained poor and stagnant while the costs of living continuously go up. Though others will deny it, crises are indeed enveloping the Filipino nation today and have affected Filipinos in various aspects.
One of the aspects crippled by the crises is education. One vivid proof of that is the recent dwindling population here in Negros Oriental State University (NORSU). This semester, NORSU system recorded an alarming 12.47 percent decrease in which from its 17, 003 population in last school year’s first semester, it dropped to 14, 883 this year of the same period. In Main Campuses alone, it recorded a 10.20 percent decrease as the 9,169 population last school year went down to 8,234 this year. Siaton Campus gets the highest drop of 20.38 percent, followed by Bais City Campuses with 19.98 percent, Guihulngan City Campus which recorded a 16.67 percent decrease in student population, while Bayawan-Sta. Catalina Campus’ population also decreased by 6.82 percent.
Generally, NORSU is not the sole university in the country that experienced a decrease in population. Even in Dumaguete City, almost all universities and higher education institutions also experienced a similar fate.
At a glance, it is very apparent that the reason why the Norsunian population and the student population in the city dropped off is primarily because of the various crises that the Filipino nation is suffering today. There is the continual transportation fare hike because of the oil crisis, the rice price hike, and the increase of the prices of other basic commodities. It is the situation that speaks for itself that as crises continue to strike, another harsh reality also happens – education is put at stake. The number of students who will not opt to study increases as the crises envelop the nation, thus, a large number of youths’ future is also put at stake. Because of the crises, parents and guardians could no longer make both ends meet and therefore, have to sacrifice other priorities, including education.
It is so sad to note that while education is supposed to be the cure for poverty in order to prevent these crises in the future, crises are already killing the cure ahead. The crises deprive a number of students to acquire higher education, and like an infection, such crises can only be healed by curing it first. But how?
Well, the answer to that question should be put on top of the priorities of the present administration, instead of concentrating on the 2010 election. Since it concerned Filipinos as a whole and since it endangers the future of the youth, the government should be alarmed and should find ways to trace and uproot the roots of these crises.
According to the report from the National Statistics Office dated July 4, 2008, the prices of services and goods consumed by an average Filipino household rose by 11.4 percent in the month of June compared to last year’s. The hike is noted to be the fastest rate recorded in the past 14 years which is said to be due largely to the substantial increase of rice and other food products. For the price of rice alone, it zoomed up by 43 percent which means that a rice consumer which allocates P100 in June last year had to spend up to P143 in June this year. The same thing with the prices of other food products included in the Filipino consumer basket which hopped by 17.4 percent.
ReplyDeleteBasing it on the report, the costs of living these days are indeed racing in zooming up and the bad thing about it is that, while it continually soars, the living of Filipino people is pushed downward and little by little buried into the ground. Most Filipinos remained poor and stagnant while the costs of living continuously go up. Though others will deny it, crises are indeed enveloping the Filipino nation today and have affected Filipinos in various aspects.
One of the aspects crippled by the crises is education. One vivid proof of that is the recent dwindling population here in Negros Oriental State University (NORSU). This semester, NORSU system recorded an alarming 12.47 percent decrease in which from its 17, 003 population in last school year’s first semester, it dropped to 14, 883 this year of the same period. In Main Campuses alone, it recorded a 10.20 percent decrease as the 9,169 population last school year went down to 8,234 this year. Siaton Campus gets the highest drop of 20.38 percent, followed by Bais City Campuses with 19.98 percent, Guihulngan City Campus which recorded a 16.67 percent decrease in student population, while Bayawan-Sta. Catalina Campus’ population also decreased by 6.82 percent.
Generally, NORSU is not the sole university in the country that experienced a decrease in population. Even in Dumaguete City, almost all universities and higher education institutions also experienced a similar fate.
At a glance, it is very apparent that the reason why the Norsunian population and the student population in the city dropped off is primarily because of the various crises that the Filipino nation is suffering today. There is the continual transportation fare hike because of the oil crisis, the rice price hike, and the increase of the prices of other basic commodities. It is the situation that speaks for itself that as crises continue to strike, another harsh reality also happens – education is put at stake. The number of students who will not opt to study increases as the crises envelop the nation, thus, a large number of youths’ future is also put at stake. Because of the crises, parents and guardians could no longer make both ends meet and therefore, have to sacrifice other priorities, including education.
It is so sad to note that while education is supposed to be the cure for poverty in order to prevent these crises in the future, crises are already killing the cure ahead. The crises deprive a number of students to acquire higher education, and like an infection, such crises can only be healed by curing it first. But how?
Well, the answer to that question should be put on top of the priorities of the present administration, instead of concentrating on the 2010 election. Since it concerned Filipinos as a whole and since it endangers the future of the youth, the government should be alarmed and should find ways to trace and uproot the roots of these crises.
(Editorial, The NORSUnian, Vol. 26, No. 5)