OUR Constitution supports and endorses the right of every Filipino child to free education. Yet, the high dropout rates and poor performance in national and international achievement tests that we see around continue to hammer our education system.
Just a few days ago, I read from a national daily the fitting conclusion to a succession of hearings conducted last year on the alleged procurement of overpriced laptops intended for blended learning.
In its conclusion, the Senate blue ribbon committee recommended criminal charges against several former and current officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Procurement Service Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).
The overvaluing of at least P979 million signifies that the DepEd budget could only buy 39,583 laptop units instead of the envisioned 68,500, consequently depriving thousands of teachers of this most useful tool during the pandemic.
Corruption in the education sector
Corruption per se already threatens everyone. It poses danger not just to the well-being of society but also erodes social trust and worsens inequality.
But corruption within the educational sector is more distressing and more treacherous. It not only threatens the social fabric but also exposes children to unethical behavior.
It disrupts development by undermining the formation of cultured, knowledgeable, and ethical individuals in the next generation of labor forces and for future leadership.
What was it in Tagalog? “Ang maling gawa ng mga matatanda, nagiging tama sa mga mata ng bata.” That is how dangerous corrupt practices can do to our future generation.
Besides corrupting young minds, corruption contributes to unfortunate education outcomes. For instance, misappropriation or diversion of school funds robs the already underfunded schools of resources. Another type of corruption is nepotism and favoritism which can lead to the employment of unqualified teachers. Bid-rigging can lead to children reading low-quality textbooks (with so many wrong spellings and unedited sentences) and the use of school supplies of inferior quality. Then there is the issue of families paying bribes or fraudulent ‘fees’ for educational services that are supposed to be free which places poor students at a disadvantage and reduces equal access to education.
Corruption in education has immediate impacts, both economic and social. Economically, one direct result is the acquisition of degrees and other qualifications based on bribes, rather than on ability, leading to the allocation of jobs and positions of authority to unsuitable people. In this scenario, talent is wasted and the potential for development is unrealized, and at worst, financial losses are incurred and lives and livelihoods are destroyed.
This is what economists dub “allocative inefficiencies.” The quality of education itself decreases thereby creating a breeding ground for further corruption and perpetuating the under-provision of human capital.
Corruption in education is predominantly thorny because it excessively affects the disadvantaged and most vulnerable, raising serious obstacles to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Moreover, it excavates economic and social disparity and hampers social mobility.
To hammer down what I’m trying to say, I’d like to use a quote from Albert Einstein —
“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”
