#DEFENDTHECAMPUSPRESS
the thirteenth scholars PURSUING ONLY THE UNTARNISHED, UNPREJUDICED, AND UNSWAYED TRUTH
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF PHILIPPINE SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL-CARAGA REGION CAMPUS BRGY. AMPAYON-TINIWISAN, BUTUAN
NEWS
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1 AUGUST-NOVEMBER 2021 FIRST QUARTER
NEOLIBERAL EDUCATION
Perdurable differences and incompetent higher-ups as students’ liability amid a pandemic CHARACTERIZATION PHILIPPINE NEOLIBERAL EDUCATION COLONIAL The country’s eudcation system is patterned to meet the demands of the trans-national, and global industrial markets.
ANTI-DEMOCRATIC Institutions have put in place repressive policies to silence the voice of its respective student bodies
COMMERCIALIZED Quality education has a price, and the (free) public education system in the country, is far from quality. PAUL NELSON GONZAGA
In this world, differences sadly matter. Despite passed laws and other factors contributing to the advocacy of ‘equal opportunities for everyone’, differences can create boundaries and kill dreams, with those involved having insufficient power to revoke such unfairness. Similar to the recent student admission system of premier schools in the country, that was solely based on applicants’ grades in past year levels, depriving hundreds of potential students. Such systems were created in consideration of the constant strain caused by the active COVID-19 pandemic, leaving no choice but to abide in merit-based admissions. Or did it really? In the past 15 months, under different adjustments in the education sector, higher authorities released positive remarks about the flow of their programs; which hid the rotten truth that had already created damage scaling from the students’ mental health to their future lives. Moreover, despite hearing such issues, no significant solutions were made, emphasizing the government’s incompetence for the country’s education. Of all the problems, the mode of learning, blended learning or modular and online classes, was the most problematic. Tracing back this year’s budget for the education sector, no support was given to create additional classrooms, together with facilities and equipment. This low precedence for the sector created a domino effect, such as the unbalance cuts between the P83.5M subsidy for medical students in SUCs and the zero budget cut for financial assistance of private school students, resulting to less and less private schools, with many unenrolled students and unemployed teachers in the blended learning setup.
OPINION
P5
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The pandemic has exposed our colonial, commercialized, and antidemocratic educational system. Thus, there is a need to struggle for a system that is Nationalist, Scientific, and massoriented In addition, no budget was specialized for the resumption of face-to-face classes, including the admission processes for renowned schools in the country. Such posteriority resulted to the newest admission system for one of the top universities in the country, University of the Philippines (UP), as an example. Its system moderately relied on the applicants’ previous final grades, affecting schools that have rigorous programs, such as the Philippine Science High School System (PSHSS), which held high passing rates in the past entrance exam admission style of the said university. With all of the scenarios stated above, how can the country’s students persist as non-priorities in the next school year? Is it the poor students’ fault that they cannot continue? Or is it the result of the hardships implicated by an already rotten system?
FEATURES P6
Death Warrant
Remaining Vigilant
In the Philippines, a communist label could be your death sentence. The 60-year conflict between the state and the Communist Party of the Philippines’s armedguerilla, the New People’s Army (CPPNPA), has been the longest ongoing communist insurgency in the world. Many presidents have promised, in one way or another, the demise of the ‘most dangerous opponent to the status quo’. For the administration of current Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, it has been bloody.
“You can make money with your mobile phone. Earn 4000-9000 pesos a day. Monthly income of 50,000 pesos! Add greetings from wa.me/639150753166”. A wolf in sheep’s clothing; this type of message from random phone numbers and “Kyle01839283682” users bring empty promises of benefits such as premium subscriptions or easy money-earning jobs.
SCIENCE P11
A step closer towards freedom When was the last time we had a normal life? Thinking about what happened back then, I remember that it has been over two years since all of this started. Back then, the busy streets were always filled with dozens or hundreds of cars and people. Students would also dash out of their classrooms after an exhausting day filled with activities.