Much is made of the public-private partnership (PPP). This is where the public and private sectors combine to produce outcomes which are favorable to the nation. In practice, this has meant Luzon-based transportation infrastructure projects. Visayas and Mindanao have been largely left out. President Duterte will change this. Which is partly why a whopping 62 percent of Mindanaoans voted for him. In a presidential contest where there were four highly supported candidates, this is a remarkable mandate.
But the biggest and best-supported PPP is to be found in the world of education. Here, the private sector, consisting of students and their families, combine with the public sector in the hitherto unlovely form of the Department of Education (DepEd) to produce an educated populace. We do not forget the students’ families who often make incredible sacrifices in order that the student can realize his or her potential.
For a dozen or so years we have had the Brigada Eskwela program wherein parents and others donated time and money during the summer to make schools ready for occupancy when the students returned in June. Sadly, what started out as a splendid example of volunteerism has changed its character somewhat so that a coercive dimension has crept in. Empty threats are reported wherein education officials hint darkly that students will not be able to enroll if parents do not support the program.
It is a truism that many of those who succeed at the highest levels of academe come from economically-straitened backgrounds.