“Youth… fair hope of my Motherland,” is an inspirational quote by our national hero, Jose Rizal, from his poem, “To The Philippine Youth,” written in Spanish in 1879 — “A La Juventud Filipina” — at the tender age of 18 while he was studying at the University of Santo Tomas.

The poem was written when the seeds of freedom from the yoke of Spain’s colonialism had germinated and began to flower after 400 years of oppression and bondage, which by 1896 had blossomed fully, finally after another 17 years, into an open revolt.

Rizal’s youthful genius manifested in his fluorescent poem called for the youth to “…lift up its radiant brow… abundant talents show… soar high, oh genius great… and to break forthright the links of the heavy chain….”

However, we need to ask, is the hope of the Motherland, our youth of today, the instant gratification children of YOLO, FOMO, mobile technology and social media, still able to soar high to break the bonds of today’s oppressions, the pervasive, persistent political, economic and social inequalities that continue to plague the vast majority of our people?

The 2023 State of Philippine Education report by the Philippine Business for Education provides us a clue. Unfortunately, the report portrays a dismal picture and belies the flowering of today’s youth to blossom in the future. Education was the key for Rizal and his fellow enlightened Insulares that unlocked the door of the inferiority complex of the colonized Filipinos.

But what is the state of education today for our youth? Equitable access to quality education is elusive. Of Filipinos aged 25 and above, only 35 percent complete their secondary education, while only 24.4 percent go on to earn a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. A closer look reveals that while 49 percent of the richest decile reach higher education, only 17 percent from the poorest decile do so.

In the 2018 report of the Program for International Student Assessment that measures reading, mathematics and science literacy among 15 year olds, the Philippines ranked last in reading and second to last in science and mathematics among 79 participating countries. Worst, 78 percent of Filipino students failed to reach the minimum levels of proficiency in each of the three PISA benchmarks.

So why are we in this rut? The easy answer is that public policy and the attendant government support have failed to respond adequately to the crying needs of the educational sector. In an era of limited fiscal resources exacerbated by the aftermath of the Covid pandemic where national priorities and compromises have to be made, this is inevitable.

So what should we do about it? If the government cannot fully fulfill its mandate, then it must be the citizenry, individually or collectively, who should step up to fill the vacuum. The Rotary is one such organization that has recognized this need and our club has consistently through the years done its part.

Allow me to name a few projects that we are particularly proud of. Our Books Across the Seas program has distributed 15,744,216 books to some 65,155 schools and libraries. We partnered with Teach For the Philippines for the Functional Literacy Program to enhance the basic literacy and numeracy skills of 300 public school students and 200 teachers and parents. We have provided financial support to the Home Education and Livelihood Program which has benefited some 40 learners from GK Villa Paraiso, including a university scholarship this school year for a graduate of their program.

The poem was written when the seeds of freedom from the yoke of Spain’s colonialism had germinated and began to flower after 400 years of oppression and bondage.

And for the youth who have no plans for college, we have given scholarships to 15 students to the Dualtech Training Center, a vocational school that pioneered the German Dual Training System, a program that provides a combination of technical courses and on the job training. We are also currently assisting Dualtech to acquire state of the art equipment for training purposes.

For health impaired youths, we support Stepping Stone, a school for the mentally challenged, for their Special Education Teen Adult Program; the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation which addresses mental health concerns such as depression and suicidal tendencies through the SuPEER Heroes Program; and the Philippine Institute for the Deaf with 19 scholarships and improvements of their facilities.

For children suffering from malnutrition that causes stunting and impaired mental faculties, we have partnerships with Kabisig and Caritas Manila that have saved about 500 children. But perhaps what our club is most proud of is our successful launch of a nationwide search for 10 outstanding youths who best exemplify Rotary’s Service Above Self advocacies — the Paing Hechanova Youth Leadership Awards, our tribute to the late Rafael “Paing” Hechanova, our fellow Makati Rotarian and Past Rotary International Director.

Until next week… OBF!

For comments, email bing_matoto@yahoo.com.