Escaping the Ruthless Currents
by Renato Bolo III
Sometimes, tortoises end up in the ocean and survive a long sea journey without food or water. But the ocean is not their natural habitat, for they are not turtles that can wade and navigate the torrential currents and unpredictable waves — they are not turtles who can call the sea their home.
Their resilience when they find themselves outside land is admirable, yet resilience can only do so much when the circumstances in which such passion burns continue to extinguish that very flame. We hold that environmental sabotage is not uncommon in the troughs that all living beings experience. Still, when such interference is man-made, there is an obligation to disallow it from obstructing justice and equity. This is what the current school administration owes the tortoises of UP Manila — the iskolars ng bayan forced into courses not of their forte and left there to be trapped without any chance of escaping.
Truth be told, it is a shared sentiment that we choose and favor UP for its free quality education, so it is no surprise that many of us compromise our choices if it means entering this esteemed institution. For several, what matters is the chance of an entrance, for movement within can be dealt with after a spot is secured. Some may choose to enter a course not aligned with their academic strand in senior high school and only plan to shift to a course more of their forte later on — to shift towards what feels more like home. But it is precisely this that is the trap of this school. To shift, one must have impeccable marks and not fail in a single unit of the 30 full units required for shifting: this demands an incredible feat not accorded to the academic tortoises struggling to keep afloat in the oceanic floods of UP Manila. They must be able to swim against the current; however, they cannot.
Although tortoises are naturally buoyant and can survive for months along end in the ocean, they are often only subject to the mercy of the high seas’ winds, waves, and currents in their search for land and home. Students who want to shift out are likewise only subject to the mercy of their learning curves, the kindness of their professors, and the culture of their blocks. Like tortoises, they can learn to float and drift, but it shall never be in their physiology to have the ability to swim freely and navigate the waters of their courses independently. It is a hard-learned truth swallowed by iskos and iskas themselves, but it is a truth not even considered by the administration, which so blatantly turns a blind eye towards those who merely desire to feel at home without the threat of displacement.
In the future, it may be effective for students to opt whether or not they would like their senior high school strand or academic interests to be considered when being evaluated for slots. But such a band-aid solution can only do so much for a deeply-rooted problem in the education system itself. The allegorical theme of the story of tortoises is not only observed in UP but also many other public institutions across the country — a phenomenon born from the neoliberal policies that continue to widen the gap between the wealthy and the marginalized and promote inequality that deprives the public sector the support it needs.
UP Manila, and the rest of UP by extension, continue to be defunded as each allocation period passes for the national government. It is no secret that such a move is detrimental to UP’s plans to extend its services and expand its spaces for more accessible and equitable education. Like tiny water droplets that trickle down from a vast dam, every small problem on our campus is merely a consequence of the more significant and more fundamental issues that pervade Filipino society. In this unfair reality, the tortoises of our education system are at the mercy of the all-controlling hand of the government and whatever repercussions may bear fruit.
Although this issue is not entirely UP’s fault, considering it is but another victim of the country’s neoliberal stance, its administration has the capacity to remedy this pressing but often overlooked conundrum on a smaller scale, where it has a duty to protect and uphold the welfare of its constituents. After witnessing their struggles in staying afloat at the mercy of the uncontrollable, we must stand with the tortoises and fight for a future where they may finally escape the ruthless currents and find the comforting warmth of a home tirelessly sought.
