Paper Chase

By Antonio M. Reyes

It’s graduation time again and an occasion for merry making. But here in the Banana Republic of the Philippines, the affair only highlights the horrible truth, that most of them will end up unemployed because they have not been trained properly.

There are many reasons for this tragedy but foremost among them is - that they have not been taught English well enough to understand their reference books which are written (albeit poorly) in that language. 

For although they were taught that honesty, prudence, hard work and love of country were important they had repeatedly witnessed that this was not practiced by their elders who actually encouraged dishonesty, imprudence, indolence, and a colonial mentality. 

Their brain washing begins at pre-school where they learn that children’s beauty contests were decided, not by beauty or brains, but by the amount of money their parents could hassle from their friends. Although less conspicuous, this is their first experience in vote-buying; a practice they will remember till they become adults. 

These lessons continue when they reach the elementary and secondary level where they are drilled for hours to answer test questions the NATS examination would cover. It’s something like the Bar review classes for aspiring lawyers - but without the essay type questions but only multiple choices.  

The reason for this rot-memorization practice is that teachers have too many ad-hoc assignments and have little time for serious mentoring. For they not only handle six classes (of 60 or more different students a day) but must also perform ten non-academic chores as well. The amount of paper work they have to attend to daily is so voluminous its enough to make one dizzy.    

Many teachers are also deficient in English and were teaching their students in the local dialect. Since the NATS tests are in English and can’t be understood by many of the students - you can just imagine the low scores they would have obtained without the coaching of their teachers. The result of these dubious practices are high school graduates who can neither speak nor comprehend English well enough to excel in college.

The product of this “Do as I do, and not what I say” philosophy are graduates who are not prepared for responsible citizenship, higher education, and the competitive job market.

These dubious practices are a major reason why eleven million of our country men today are unemployed, and wasting their time drinking Tanduay in Tambayans while watching students (with their heavy back packs) trudge their way to an uncertain future.                     

Think about this when you rent your child’s toga and pay all the school clearance fees for that thin “white paper” that confirms your child is now ready to face the world and handle tough assignments in his field of expertise.

What a waste of time, effort, and money.

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