My education from the University of the Philippines is the reason I have a good job, live comfortably, and have the capacity to think critically. If not for the university's outstanding (and already underpaid) teachers, I would be a lesser artist/designer than I am today. Students from all income brackets are welcome in our halls, and part of our taxes go towards educating these scholars of the nation.
Every time I see that 20% of my salary goes to taxes, I remember that thanks to the University of the Philippines, I got practically free education for both my high school and college life. I don't feel bad when I know that at least part of my huge tax deduction is going to my alma mater and is helping students achieve their dreams.
With the government's 2011 budget cut removing 1.39 billion pesos from the UP system alone, I'm horrified to see that they're increasing the pork barrel from 10 billion to 24 billion. The budget for the DND (Department of National Defense) has also increased, going from 57.8 billion to a ridiculous 104.7 billion.
UP is one of the few public universities that the Philippines has-- students who are studying here can't afford yet another tuition spike, and many of them will be forced to drop out. I'm bitterly disappointed in both our president and our senators for allowing this budget cut to go through, and I hope that the rallying students all over the country manage to get through to them.
I have never been particularly impressed with President Aquino, and this proves that he has none of his late mother's considerable wisdom or panache. What a disappointment.
You can read the President's 2011 Budget Message here.
And some fast facts from the UP Student Council over here.
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6 comments:
Aww, the president seems to be doing a bad job.
Less money goes to the education of our youth, more money goes to the pockets of corrupt officials. Well done, President Aquino.
Yeah, I wrote about this in protest before (http://www.skysenshi.com/2010/09/as-international-literacy-day-passes-i.html), but I thought he wouldn't exactly go through with it. Last Thursday, I was at the CSSP grounds and the students were having a concert (in protest). I feel so sad.
And you're right about getting education practically free. Now I have more reasons to resent that 20% tax deduction.
the last time the president impressed me was during the speech, the day he was proclaimed the president... too bad, education doesn't seem to be a priority these days
you might want to read this article, just so you know what other people think about it: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philstar.com%2FArticle.aspx%3FarticleId%3D634744%26publicationSubCategoryId%3D64&h=ec607
i used to work in DepEd, actually, so i understand that (supposedly) they want to prioritize basic education. i totally disagree about the K-12 system though.
I truly don't understand governments worldwide who invest in defense rather than in education! Makes me mad too...
I'm glad to pay taxes because I believe in a "socialist" vision, such as national health care. But I hate the fact I'm indirectly financing dirty wars...
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