Youth, student groups call for proper education policies, rejection of mandatory ROTC
By Ian Patrick Laqui
Various progressive youth organizations and student groups from different schools continued to call for a ‘ligtas balik-eskwela’ and rejected the proposed mandatory implementation of the Reserve Officer Training Corps [ROTC].
The groups advocated for a safe, accessible, and quality education policy and condemned ROTC, as they marked National Student’s Day with a protest on Thursday, Nov. 17.
“The Marcos administration has been pushing tone-deaf, anti-poor, and anti-student reform such as Mandatory ROTC. Meanwhile, student councils have been the model of good governance by listening to their constituents, formulating then campaigning for doable policy proposals…to address the learning crisis,” Kabataan Partylist Representative Raoul Manuel said in a statement.
“However, such bill and other student-led education legislative measures have so far been snubbed,” he added.
In the most recent data of the World Bank’s State of Global Learning Poverty, the Philippines has a learning poverty rate of 90.9 percent, making the country among the highest in the Asian region.
The groups also cited the case of Thomasian Mark Welson Chua who was slain after exposing the corrupt practices of ROTC in UST, as an example of what could the reimposition of the said program would cause.
The ROTC program was first proposed to be reintroduced by the Department of National Defense in 2016.
“Tutol kami sa mandatory ROTC dahil ito ay nagcucultivate ng culture of impunity, culture of fascism false nationalism sa mga kabataang estudyante,” Anakbayan National Spokesperson Jeann Miranda said in an interview.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, is also a strong advocate of this program, citing preparedness for national defense.
On Sept. 14, Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. filed a bill to make ROTC mandatory for grades 11 and 12 students.
The ROTC was abolished in 2002 after controversies and alleged corruption hounded the program.
Good progress but not enough
In a memorandum released by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Nov. 16, higher education institutions are required to implement either a full in-person class or hybrid learning making the online mode of delivery obsolete.
It may be a good step according to youth leaders, but they also said that the government should still fill the gap by ensuring that no student will be left behind.
“Ang demand natin nagmamaintain parin, na dapat ang gawin ng national government ay ienable yung ating mga educational institutions na kung paano na kung the soonest time possible na magkaroon ng 100 percent na face-to-face classes,” Manuel said in an interview with TomasinoWeb.
“This conversation has been going on for a long time, gobyerno nalang talaga ang naglalag tungkol sa panganagilangan ng ating mga estudyante,” he added.
“Very welcome kami sa full face-to-face ng mga estudyante ngunit kailangan tiyakin ng mga administrasyon ng mga eskwelahan at administrasyon ni Marcos na titiyakin niya na ligtas ang pgababalik ng mga estudyante,” Miranda also said in an interview.
Although there is a feeling of “excitement,” as their advocacy and campaign came into fruitition, UST Central Student Council President Nathan Agustin said it might be “quite alarming “ for some students due to a sudden transition from enriched virtual mode to face-to-face classes.
“There are still reservations, but mostly for the students na kailangan mag adapt within this short period, but of course anything that will allow students to return to classes with equity, lahat mabibigyan ng chansa makabalik with much opportunities, that is definitely welcome,” Agustin said in an interview.
As of writing, the UST administration has yet to make an announcement in relation to the recent CHED memorandum.
