Anamarie Antolin
October 27, 2023
As the dropout rate in the Philippines continues to rise, Department of Finance Chief Benjamin Diokno has called for a review of free college education in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), which he deems "unwieldy, inefficient, and wasteful" of public funds or taxpayer resources. The finance head also proposed allocating this to whom he classified as "deserving" students, and holding a nationwide test for college entrance, sparking controversy about whether education in the country is seen as a privilege rather than a right.
Diokno refers to the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA 10931), widely known as the free higher education law implemented by the previous Duterte government, of which he was also a member. This is granted to over 100 state universities and colleges, as well as over 70 local universities, including Bulacan State University (BulSU). This entailed P18.8 billion from the national budget for 2023, and his argument, calling students who are unable to miss their education "undeserving" stemmed from the country's increased dropout rate as a result of the law's implementation.
However, according to a recent Pulse Asia survey conducted from September 10 to 14, this year, 98 percent of Filipinos still support the law, mostly because it produces more graduates. The respondents in this poll were 1,200 adults, whereas Senator Sherwin Gatchalian also expressed his support, citing the increasing young participation as its result.
Additionally, based on The Borgen Project report from 2019, the Philippines has the highest dropout rate among ASEAN countries, with a 6.38 percent dropout rate among elementary, and 7.82 percent among secondary school students. This equates to more than five million school children who did not enroll for the academic year 2020-2021, with the COVID-19 pandemic also playing a role, mostly coming from the secondary level.
Diokno also claimed that the K-12 Basic education program should be strengthened because the poor have a higher chance of attending and completing college if they have a solid foundation through this program. He saw this program as beneficial for those students who instead want better jobs than to pursue higher education.
Nevertheless, Statista reported in June 2022 that 44 percent of adult respondents were dissatisfied with the country's implementation of the K-12 basic education system.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the dropout rate is the percentage or number of learners who quit school or did not continue to attend a year after completing their previous grade for any reason.
A case study published this year titled School dropouts in the Philippines: causes, changes and statistics found that the high expense of school, and student employment were among the underlying reasons for dropouts in the Philippines in 2008 and 2013. Furthermore, the existence of this regulation does not guarantee that the possibilities of disadvantaged minorities have improved because expansions are observed to connect to reductions in inequality in some systems. It can further exacerbate inequalities due to higher stratification.
With these rising numbers, it became apparent that it is in secondary school where most cases of dropout occur, implying that government efforts to enhance access to higher education must begin there. The Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education should prioritize initiatives that address its root causes, to lower its total rate, not only in those selected sectors.
The need to address the causes of this rapid rise should take precedence over the abolition and restriction of free tertiary education, as this helps with financial worries in continuing studies.
Existing educational policies should be modified to reflect current conditions. More so, the discussion over education reform does not end with having access to its basics, but also with ensuring its quality.
More than imposing further limits by limiting the number of students who can access it, it is critical to ensure proper budget allocation and give the education sector priority over others. Similarly, rather than removing it, enhance and expand its scope of operation.
Contributing to the education of Filipinos is not a waste of money, but rather an investment in their future, regardless of their financial standing.
If education is free, it will reach the poor. Diokno's remark about opening and introducing a nationwide test to filter the deserving students from those who are not only proves the point that education becomes more of a privilege than a right.
In the Philippines, where it cannot be denied that education became a way to gain standing in the new social order, how far can one go to attain this supposedly fundamental right?
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