Kherstell Jane Magtolis

11 – ABM – Maxwell
Reading and writing

Argumentative Essay: Should There Be More Schools in

the Philippines?
Education is something that is earned. It is not something that a person is born with. Other
than gaining new knowledge and having a deeper understanding of things, education can
also lead to economic development. As stated in the human capital theory, “the economic
development of a nation is a function of the quality of its education” (Meinardus, 2003).
This means that a nation filled with more educated people has a greater capacity to achieve
economic development. Other than that, education can also lead to a respectable life
because an educated person is more respected in society. In the Philippines, several
problems in education have aroused. These problems include: the poor quality of education
in the Philippines, a large portion of the population is illiterate and/or uneducated, and
there is a lack in educational resources. One way of solving these problems is by increasing
the number of schools and universities in the Philippines. Although there are advantages in
increasing the number of educational institutions in the country, it would be better if the
government spends its funds on more important things, such as improving the quality of
education in the Philippines, because having more schools does not necessarily lead to a
better future for the society due to the low quality of education, lack of teachers and staff,
and the fact that not everyone can go to school.

It is a common knowledge that the rate of Philippine education is quite low. According to
the former DepEd Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz, “the quality of Philippine education has
been declining for roughly 25 years” (Meinardus, 2003). Examples of this are the results of
standard tests taken by elementary and high school students and the results of the National
College Entrance Examination taken by college students. Their scores were below the
“target mean score” (Squidoo, 2010). This may be due to the fact that there are incompetent
teachers who are educating these students. In some cases, educational institutions would
make a mistake of hiring teachers who are not fit to teach just so they can have someone to
facilitate the learning of the students enrolled in their schools. Not only does this contribute
to the low level of education in the country but it can also lead to a bigger problem such as
completely disillusioning students. Another factor that can cause low quality of education is
the inefficiency of school facilities. This is a problem because students will not be able to
learn properly and easily if they lack the necessary materials such as classrooms,
blackboards, chairs and chalk.

The problem in education of the country is also brought about by the lack of teachers and
staff. It is a common knowledge that teachers in the Philippines are underpaid that is why
there is a limited supply of teachers in both private and public schools. In addition, some of
the talented teachers would rather choose to work abroad than in the Philippines because
there is that idea that they can have better opportunities there.
Lastly, there is only a limited number of people who can go to school. Problems such as lack
in money often contribute to why this is happening. According to research, students who
belong to the poor sector have higher dropout rates because they do not have the economic
resources to sustain their education (Meinardus, 2003). There is also that thinking that it is
better to just work than to study. Lastly, even though the government can help in addressing
this problem, they cannot provide for everyone’s education because they lack funds.

Increasing the number of schools and universities in the Philippines cannot solve the
problem in education because as long as there are incompetent teacher and inefficient
facilities, the problems would still be there. There are other better solutions to this
problem. Alternative solutions include upgrading teachers’ salaries, establishing more
advance training programs for teachers, and proper allocation of government budget for
education.