Education is a privilege. But as to what our parents speaks of when it comes to their youth, not all receives the chance to sit on an armchair, make friends with strangers of inside a classroom for 10 months in a year, and be lectured and guided by a madam or sir next to a chalkboard. Not all wore a white blouse/polo and skirt/shorts whenever the ring bells. Not all withheld bunks of books and notebooks inside their bags. Not all had a chance to become a student and study. Not all. Yet, it is in their times, not in this time of history.
Here in the Philippines, it cannot be denied that one factor why not every single Filipino is not-well-educated is due to environmental hindrances from home to school premises. There are still those who choose to live in remote areas due to lack of financial capability in acquiring presentable homes near the city or town. As a result, they become distant on the government sectors which are crucially important in growing, developing, and the adjusting of individuals in the evolving world, including education. There are mountains and rivers to cross, literally. Due to this, many children ages with the lack of knowledge in surviving this new generation of technology and gadgets. Thus, it becomes a challenge for the government on how these remote places will be accessible to high forms of education,
Still, this dilemma is gradually graduating here in the province of Bataan, especially in the municipality of Bataan, as the government builds up new Mariveles National High Schools (MNHS) to meet the population of students, and also provide greater education to those who are living kilometers away from the main branch, MNHS-Cabcaben. Annexes are starting to rise up, as well as the hope for the better future of those hardworking students who are living a mediocre life but richly dreaming for a big escape from poverty.
As of today, there are five Mariveles National High Schools in the municipality, including: MNHS-Poblacion (which was formerly an MNHS-Cabcaben annex); MNHS-Malaya; MNHS-Cabcaben; and its two annexes in Batangas II and Alas-Asin. Though only the first three schools are fully built, the latter two are now accommodated with students who used to take mini bus or jeepney trips before going to school. Despite the ongoing construction, the quality of education applied to these annexes is same and equal to those established campuses, with all the professional teachers handling the students.
It is true that education is a privilege, and now it can be proven through the accessibility of schools to all students. There is no distance that is too far or mountain too high, for a student that wants more in his or her life and a government that is willing to grant these hopes.
By: Dinah Maureen Libunao | Teacher III | Mariveles National Highschool – Cabcaben | Mariveles, Bataan
