Intensifying oppression and suppression of youth and students
The US-Estrada regime is incessantly imposing an ever-heavier burden on the youth, students and their parents. It is promoting the commercialized educational system and unabashedly trampling upon students� democratic rights.
Out-of-school youth are increasing in number. Sixty percent (60%) of children who enter elementary schools are forced to drop out in the second grade due to the high cost of education. Even more in number are those who never get to go to high school or college because of the fees they could ill afford. Consequently, more than 5.7 million children are working instead of studying.
Incessant tuition fee increases. In the first month alone of this school year, 315 private colleges and universities are set to raise tuition and other fees by 10-50%. This number does not include those that hiked tuition rates in the first months of the year such as the 35 schools in Western Visayas that implemented increases of 7-33% in February. In 1999, 394 private colleges and universities increased tuition fees, some by up to 70%. More than 200 did so in 1998.
These were all approved and even encouraged by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) and the Commission on Higher Education.
Worse, even state colleges and universities are set to raise their tuition fees. Among these are some Mindanao schools that plan to raise their fees to P40 per unit this school year, on top of last year�s hike of at least 50%.
Slashing meager budgets. This year�s education budget is almost P10 billion less than last year�s. The slash was made despite the increasing number of students and the pressing need for more teachers, classrooms and textbooks among others. The DECS itself admits that there is a need for an additional 44,423 teachers and 25,000 classrooms this year.
The University of the Philippines� budget, originally P4.2 billion, has been reduced by P155 million. A P2 million-cut was also made on the Davao Oriental State College�s P37 million-budget. Even public elementary schools underwent drastic budget cuts. In this regard, schools have abolished their student loan programs.
Towards the ultimate goal of completely abandoning the responsibility of funding state colleges and universities, the government requires them to generate their own funds through business and other means.
Suppression of campus press freedom and other rights. Infringement upon campus press freedom and the students� basic right to self-organization and assembly continues. The Campus Journalism Act of 1991 is being used to silence student publications critical of school administrations or the government. Nationwide, many students and publications have suffered harassment for criticizing unjust policies and the raking in of huge profi ts by schools. Not a few of them were expelled or criminally charged by school owners.
The regime and school administrations prohibit students from waging protest actions. Students were expelled from the University of the East-Recto and the University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu City for protesting tuition fee hikes. On January 27, four students were arrested for joining a rally in front of Malaca�ang to demand a bigger education budget. The police violently dispersed the rally, injuring more than 100 students.
With the intensifying oppression and suppression of youth and students, it has become ever clear to them that they need to stand up, organize and fi ght for their democratic interests.
That youth and student mobilizations are becoming more vigorous this year is a welcome development. Alongside their struggle against policies that oppress them, the youth and students stand firmly united with the Filipino people against ceaseless oil price increases and the US-Estrada regime�s intensifying fascism and for an increase in workers� wages.
We are confident that in the near future, youth and students in their tens of thousands will continue to march on the streets and other fronts to fi ght for their democratic interests and join the clamor for revolutionary change.
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