PREGUNTAVER

The passing of former President Boris Yeltsin reminded me of my Russian friends, the continuing saga about the people's struggle for better government and the need for a responsible press. On 1993, I was a young student taking up a short course in Switzerland. My initial conversations with classmates, program facilitators and acquaintances never failed to include questions (some were delivered in a manner that struck me as rude) about what was happening to my country. They told me that they kept on hearing bad things about it. The polite ones simply asked; “How is the Philippines?” And there’s this gentleman who softly said; “Tell us more about your country. We seem to only hear about it, whenever there’s a catastrophe.” Such a fine gentleman, I thought. So full of good manners . Anyway, though seemingly impolite, I must admit that the apparently offensive statements were mostly valid observations. On 1993, the Philippines had just gone through more than 10 years of great misfor...

APPLY NOW -In a Reuters article, the following figures came out in reference to the Philippine Educational system. Please click this page for the complete article . -In a survey, the country rated 126 out of 163 in a 2006 global survey on corruption, behind Libya and Uganda. -The average annual teachers' salary averages 1,700 UK pounds. -The United Nations reports that approximately 46 percent of the population live on less than $2 a day, and 28 percent of children under the age of five are underweight. -A class size of 65 students is a frequent occurrence . -World Bank show education spending by the Philippines was equal to 3.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2004, far higher than Indonesia's 0.9 percent but well below Malaysia's 8 percent and Thailand's 4.2 percent. -Just one in five 12-year- olds scored the mastery level of 75 percent in maths, science, social studies and languages in the 2004/05 school year. -There are plans to increase its education budget ...