EDUCATION BLUES: A bULATLAT Special Report
(Part II)
Where Survival Is More Important than
Studying
Pupils in a
far-flung village on Mt. Isarog in Bicol face problems more pressing than
finishing assignments and submitting class projects on time. Even at such
a young age, they are already forced to help their poor families survive.
While their parents definitely want the best for them, it appears that
education has become less of a priority due to financial difficulties.
BY
LINO D. INTERINO III
Bulatlat
Education is said to be the best gift
parents could give to their children. Parents believe that their children
and their family would have a bright future if their children would earn a
college degree. But in remote villages in the Bikol region, education
takes a back seat to something more important: survival.
Barangay
(village) Consocep is one of them. The village is 18 kilometers away from
the town proper of Tigaon, Camarines Sur (487 kms. southeast of Manila),
lying on the slope of Mt. Isarog, one of the famous mountains in the Bicol
region.
The village is
host to the Consocep Elementary School (CES), which was established in
2002. It consists only of two classrooms with four grade levels and only
one teacher. The average number of pupils every year is about 70.
Nancy Bongat,
27, is CES’ only teacher. She said she has to wake up early in order to
come to the school on time from her residence in the town proper. Good
thing she has a motorcycle, which helps her travel faster.
"Dati, noong
bagong guro pa lamang ako dito sa tribo, kinailangan kong bumiyahe ng
maaga para makarating agad. Malayo talaga kasi itong lugar. Nag-decide
ako na kumuha ng hulugang motorsiklo para madali ako makapunta dito"
(Before, when I was just a new teacher here in the tribe, I had to leave
earlier. This is really very far. I decided to get a motorcycle on
installment basis so that I could come earlier.), she said.
Nancy used to
travel to school with her husband but since he got sick, her brother has
been accompanying her. She said she and her husband even thought of
settling in the place and bringing their children there so that she could
attend to her job better. But because of the lack of facilities and the
strenuous situation, they opted to remain where they were, even if it
meant spending P50 ($0.94, based on an exchange rate of P53.17 for every
US dollar) for gasoline every day.
"Hindi kami
pwedeng tumira dito. Paano kas, kung magkaroon dito ng emergency,
ang layo ng ospital. Isa pa, hindi ako agad makakabili ng mga kailangan
kong (school) supplies 'pag naubusan ako dahil wala namang pwedeng
bilhan" (We cannot live here. If there would be an emergency, the
hospital is too far. Besides, I cannot buy the school supplies I need
easily if they are out of stock because there is no place to buy them.),
she added.
Because of
limited classrooms, Grades 1 and 2 pupils are put in one room and Grades 3
and 4 in another. She attends first to the lower grade levels, motivates
them to participate in the class activities and gives them seatwork. She
does the same thing to the Grades 3 and 4 pupils.
Nancy also has
to deal with the lack of books and school supplies. Most of her pupils do
not have enough paper, pencils and crayons, among others. But for her, the
worst part is the uncooperative attitude of her pupils and their parents.
"Actually,
plano ko na tumanggap pa rin ng enrollees hanggang katapusan ng
Hunyo kasi kinokosidera ko naman 'yung mga parents na wala pang pang-enrol
sa mga anak nila. Alam mo naman ang buhay dito sa bundok, sobrang
napakahirap. Minsan nga kahit walang pang-enrol hinihikayat ko 'yung
mga magulang na papasukin ang anak nila dito kahit huli na 'yung bayad
para may matutunan ang anak nila. (Actually, I plan to still accept
enrollees until the end of June because I also consider the parents who do
not have money to enroll their kids. You know the life here in the
mountain, it is very hard. Sometimes, even if they do not have money, I
encourage the parents to let their children attend school even if the
payment would be settled later so their children could learn something),"
she quipped.
She said that
some parents would argue that their kids are not registered in a local
civil registry and do not have a birth certificate, a basic requirement
for enrolment. However, she has a solution to this.
"Kapag
ganyang wala silang birth certificate, basta willing i-enrol,
tinatanggap ko pa rin basta asikasuhin nila. Sinasabi ko na lang na
mayroon kapag tinatanong ako sa office namin kasi requirement
talaga iyon,” (Even if they do not have birth certificate, when they
are willing to enroll, I also accept them, but they have to submit it
later. I just say that they have when I'm asked in our office because it
is really a requirement.) she said. She explained to the parents that
having a birth certificate is very important since it is not only used for
their children's schooling.
She said that
teachers have to settle the financial accounts of their school from the
collection of enrolment fees so that they would be cleared for the
previous school year and get their salaries. Since the parents last year
were unable to pay their dues, she shouldered the payables amounting to
about P5,000 ($94.04) just so she could get her salary. However, she
cannot ask the parents to reimburse her due to their own financial
difficulties. The agreed fee of the Parents and Teachers Association of
CES is P180 ($3.38) and some parents find it difficult to raise this
amount.
Problems
Nancy added
that last year, after the first few weeks of schooling, the number of
pupils decreased, especially when rainy season came and the road became
slippery and muddy. Some pupils also could not cross the Panagan River
which overflows during heavy rains and becomes impassable.
Sometimes,
Nancy said, parents do not allow their children to attend classes because
they need help in the farm or in taking care of their siblings. Some are
also forced to absent themselves to earn a living.
Nancy also said
her pupils live far from the school. Worse, they have to travel on foot
going to and from the school. Some even leave their houses and walk to
school on empty stomach.
"Dito sa
bundok, kapag tag-ulan halos wala na silang kinakain. Minsan 'yung bata
hindi na papasok kasi wala silang pagkain. So, kailangan nilang mag-stay
sa bahay o tumulong sa mga gawain sa bukid. Tinatanong ko nga minsan
ang ilan kung ano ang kinain nila sa bahay. Sasagot na lamang sila ng 'wala
po ma'am'. Kung meron naman, kanin lang pero walang ulam,” (Here in
the mountain, they almost have no food to eat during the rainy season.
Sometimes the pupil would not go to school anymore since his or her family
does not have any food. So, they have to stay in the house or help in the
farm. I ask them sometimes what they had for breakfast. They would reply,
“none, ma'am.” If they had food, sometimes they would eat only rice
without viand.) she said. Nancy said that her pupils would only take
doma or rootcrops for food. This usually happens during the rainy
reason due to scarcity of rice.
It is very hard
for them to go down the town market to buy goods for their consumption.
The road is underdeveloped and the transportation fare is very expensive.
Vehicles seldom travel to the area because according to the drivers, it is
a waste of effort, time and fuel.
There are
service vehicles available known as habal-habal which are
motorcycles customized to carry as much as four passengers on its pillion
seat. The fare, however, is more expensive since a person pays P40 to P50
($0.75 to $0.94).
Overage
students
Meanwhile,
Nancy has students who are way above the elementary age bracket. One of
them is 14-year-old Rowena Madrid who is enrolled in Grade 3. At her age,
she is supposed to be on her second year in high school. She was taking
care of her little brother when we met her. She said that she did not
attend school that day because her parents were working in the farm and
there was no one else to attend to household chores. Another student,
12-year-old Roy Semeniano, was also in Grade 3. When asked what Rowena and
Roy want to be in the future, they could not give an answer.
Should the
Grade 4 pupils at CES want to continue to the next grade level, they would
have to enroll at the Gaao Elementary School (GES), located nearly three
kilometers away from CES.
Unfortunately,
most of the pupils do have the chance to pursue Grades 5 and 6. They
usually choose to remain at home for various reasons, foremost of which is
the lack of money.
Pedro Gisik,
42, a father of seven children, said that it is really very hard to send
children to school. His two daughters Chona, 13, and Geralyn, 14, were
supposed to be in Grades 5 and 6, respectively, but he cannot afford to
send them to school anymore.
"Pero
pangarap ko pa ring makapagtapos sila ng pag-aaral. 'Yun lang ang tanging
kayamanan na maipapamana ko sa kanila. Sa ngayon, tigil na muna sila sa
pag-aaral. Pag-iipunan ko muna iyon. (I wish they could finish their
studies someday. That's the only wealth I could give to them. But for now,
they have to stop. But I will raise money for their education.)," he said.
Nancy said that
sometimes, people would come to the tribe to recruit adolescent girls to
work in Manila as maids.
"Yung mga
magulang naman, dahil sa hirap ng buhay, pinapayagan na nilang magtrabaho
ang mga anak kahit dose o katorse anyos pa lang. Kasi bago umalis 'yung
anak nila, may pera na agad na iiwan sa kanila 'yung recruiter
bilang paunang bayad,” (The parents allow their children even if they
are only twelve or fourteen years old. They say yes because the recruiter
would already give them money before the children leave as initial
payment) she said.
Gregorio
Balbalosa, barangay captain of Consocep, confirmed this.
"Hindi rin
namin masisisi ang mga magulang dahil sa hirap ng buhay. Kung pipigilan
namin sila at hingan kami ng kanilang ikabubuhay, ano naman ang ibibigay
namin?” (We cannot blame the parents because of poverty. If we stop
them and they ask us how they would live, what could we provide?) he said.
"Sa nakikita
ko rito, parang walang halaga ang edukasyon sa kanila dahil sa hirap ng
buhay. Mas pipiliin pa nilang magtrabaho pati ang kanilang mga anak para
mabuhay araw-araw. Sana mabuksan ang isipan ng mga magulang sa kahalagahan
ng pag-aaral, (As I see it, education does seem important to them
because of poverty. They would rather have children work to daily
survival. I hope the parents would realize the importance of education.)
Nancy said. Bulatlat
Related articles:
BACK TO
TOP ■
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION ■
COMMENT
© 2006 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications
Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided
its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
