Current Issues in the Philippines
According to the Greek philosopher, Plato, "Nothing is more important in human life as education. It is an indispensable necessity for mankind." Education is the key that levels the playing field of opportunity between the rich and poor, amongst social classes and races. In the Philippines, the lack of education is the primary reason why it cannot move forward towards progress, and has led to social problems such as: scarcity of job opportunities, impoverished family life, and lack of environmental concerns among the marginalized members of our society. The lack of education of Filipinos living in the slum areas in major cities of the country is the void that keeps the gap between the rich and the poor. It is one of the major contributory factors that has caused the Philippines to remain as a third world country, aside from corruption in government. Our president, Benigno C. Aquino III, strongly believes that education is the first step that will lead the Filipinos to the "tuwid na daan."
The lack of education can be equated to poor job opportunities. Job hiring, nowadays, is highly competitive among fresh graduates. In fact, the degree or course of an individual is not only the basis for getting a good paying job, but from what university or college he/she graduated from. Hence, since good job opportunities are scarce for those who have not gone to school, low paying "blue-collar jobs" is the only means to survive. Most often, these people are the victims of contractualization from which they do not receive benefits as compared to regular employees, and the protection from the abuses of companies that give below daily minimum wage that is set by law. In the survey conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in 2011 on Child Labor, it showed that out of the 29.019 million Filipino children aged 5-17 years old, about 18.9 percent or 5.59 million were already working, usually in hazardous conditions. For parents who lack education, they actually pressure their
The lack of education can be equated to poor job opportunities. Job hiring, nowadays, is highly competitive among fresh graduates. In fact, the degree or course of an individual is not only the basis for getting a good paying job, but from what university or college he/she graduated from. Hence, since good job opportunities are scarce for those who have not gone to school, low paying "blue-collar jobs" is the only means to survive. Most often, these people are the victims of contractualization from which they do not receive benefits as compared to regular employees, and the protection from the abuses of companies that give below daily minimum wage that is set by law. In the survey conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in 2011 on Child Labor, it showed that out of the 29.019 million Filipino children aged 5-17 years old, about 18.9 percent or 5.59 million were already working, usually in hazardous conditions. For parents who lack education, they actually pressure their
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