Choosing between books and bolos
WITH THE summer vacation coming to a close, I thought about my students who graduated last March and the incoming freshmen we will meet in June. All these young people willing to toil for at least four years to gain a diploma, a job and live happily ever after. But a college or university degree is not a guarantee of employment anymore because we churn out more graduates than jobs, thus many seek their future abroad leading to what we know as brain drain.
In Malaysia, where I am presently based, the minister of higher education recently announced a five-year temporary freeze on new medical courses in institutions of higher education to address an oversupply of medical graduates. The Philippines should have done the same when nursing schools and courses began to mushroom all over, such that we have many frustrated nursing graduates with no work at home and abroad. Malaysia also froze the intake of students in institutions whose medical education did not meet accreditation standards. Same problem in the Philippines where diploma mills need to be closed or brought up to par.
Every Sunday there are makeshift food stalls outside the Catholic Cathedral in Kuala Lumpur where Pinoy food can be had for a reasonable price. Homesick Pinoys can even bring home suman, leche flan, tuyo, longanisa and other comfort food. Chatting up our kababayan here, I get the impression that they are happy with their employers, and claim that they earn more than their competition from Cambodia and Indonesia. I read in the papers that one of the issues discussed between Malaysia and Indonesia at the sidelines of the recent Asean was the return of Indonesian domestics to Malaysia. Two years ago, following reports of abuse and non-payment of salaries, Indonesia banned the sending of domestics to Malaysia unless the host country could guarantee: the safety of Indonesian domestics, provide minimum wage, day-off, and an end to the practice of employers taking custody of the passport of their domestic help. The ban should have opened 50,000 jobs for Pinoys but Malaysians prefer Indonesians on the basis of religion, culture and lower wages. Malaysian agencies started to source from Cambodia and even lobbied, without success, to lower working age for domestics from 21 to 18. There are reports that when the ban is lifted Indonesia will start sending 1,000 maids a month to Malaysia.
All this made me wonder about the Pinoy aspiration for a college diploma, even if it’s a worthless piece of paper from a diploma mill. Then there are parents who decide what course their children should take regardless of inclination or aptitude. In February 1896, Rizal wrote his sister Lucia to report on the progress of her sons who were sent to Dapitan to be educated by their uncle. It seems Lucia was upset that Rizal was encouraging one of her sons to become a farmer. Rizal wrote:
“Teodosio and Tan have gained much with their stay in Manila and are grown up. They don’t seem to me unpromising boys. All on the contrary, and I hope that with time they will become very useful men. Teodosio is not lazy; he has more liking for the land than for books. We cannot all be doctors. It is necessary that there be some to cultivate the land. One must follow one’s inclination. Tan, on the other hand, is a boy who likes to study and has ability. He has already looked at my books and has asked me for some. With time, this lad will be a man of books. When I asked them what was their order for Manila, Teodosio asked for his bolo and Tan for his book. This proves the inclination of each one. And after all, I, who have spent my life studying, now I’m going to plant coconuts! Today I have made them write a letter. The writer was Tan and Teodosio helped him. You will see by the characters that Teodosio is economical and Tan is generous. Here I shall teach them Spanish, English, Arithmetic and gymnastics.”
This letter is relevant to anyone interested in education and young people. Lucia Rizal wanted to know why her academically “lazy” son wanted a bolo instead of a book. Rizal stopped her in her tracks by saying: “We cannot all be doctors.” Rizal valued inclination and aptitude. College admission tests try to determine these, hoping that parents and students heed the results and find the right track for the future.
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