Graduation rites and the graduate's rights

It's March Madness again.

While they were busy with the NCAA Basketball Tournament in the US, here in the Philippines, a lot of students were spending their time on the march, during March (okay, it's pathetic but that was worth the try).

So to kick things off, I'd like to congratulate my sister who graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in Accountancy last Saturday.

Way to go Vic. All your hard work finally paid off, and now you get to reap the fruits of your labor. But be wary that this is only the beginning. You still have a long way to go. This is just your first step towards adulthood and more responsibilities. Continue to strive harder and explore your boundaries until you maximize your full potential. Once again Vic, congratulations.

* * *

Now, while my sister's graduation is a special event that deserves to be met by nothing more than cheerfulness, happiness and positivity, I can't help but get slightly irritated with some parts of said event.

First, the Baccalaureate Mass. I also graduated from a Catholic school, so I'm cool with pray time. After all, you have to thank God about helping you finally get a hold of the elusive diploma. But what irks me is the timing of the mass. 

The mass was held in my sister's school at around 8 am. Her graduation is on the same day and at the same place, only at  4 pm. Wow, that's nice...4 PM?!?!?! You gotta be effing me?!?!?! Just think about it. Isn't it a bit ridiculous to go to the venue, only to head home or be forced to spend some 6-7 hours staying there doing nothing? While this schedule favors those who live nearby, or private vehicle owners, I find it unfair to commuters and those who live far from this QC-based all-girls school. My sister told me she had a schoolmate who lived in Cainta. So to save herself from a bumpy ride and some transportation fare, schoolmate decided to stay in the school. And I can bet that was a long wait.

I'm just wondering, what's with the huge gap between the mass and the graduation ceremony itself? And isn't this all-girls school supposed to be pro-environment? Isn't asking your students, majority of which are private vehicle owners/drivers, to go to school, only to return later then leave again, result into more air pollution and needless gasoline consumption? Who even scheduled the activities for that day? And why didn't they even offer an explanation to parents?

Graduations...let's keep them memorable (in a positive manner) for the graduates and their families, please. Don't let your student, who financed the school for so long, leave the gates with a bad taste in the mouth.

* * *

My sister is just one of millions who are graduating this month. And that's not including those who won't be getting their diplomas until April. Unfortunately, a huge chunk of that number won't be getting any jobs.

Now, I don't need to worry about my sister because I know she can hold her own. She finished with good grades and I'm pretty sure that being a working student holds some weight to her potential employers. If that ain't enough, our mom can use her connections to get her a job. And if all else fails, I'll be more than glad to pull some strings for my sibling. So you see, my sister has no problem getting employed. But what about the rest of batch 2011? And that's not saying there are still unemployed graduates from batch 2010 and 2009. Is this really the question I should be asking? How about, why do we have so many people graduating from college in the first place?

Perhaps, no other society (take note, I said society, not government) in the world gives more importance to education than the one we have in the Philippines. Once you enter your final year in high school, you're never going to hear the end of the college-related discussions. Questions like "Where will you be studying?" and "What course will you be taking?" are questions that'll most likely be heard over and over again. In addition, a lot of jobs here require a college diploma from an applicant. So if you expect to earn a living you, better go to college. And if you're not warming up to the idea, your parents will be there to force you, despite the financial problems that such move will cause.

Don't feel like studying for four to five years? You might as well take a technical or vocational course. It only takes some two years to finish anyway. But don't expect people to think highly of you. In our society, people often look down on those who don't have a bachelors degree. 

From a realistic point of view, I don't see the country recovering from the economic setback it suffered during the last two decades. Especially if we seem to be getting poorer with each passing year. Now, I'm not speaking from the standpoint of an economist, who usually brags about our GDP. I'm just saying it as I see it. From where I stand, I'm surrounded by a lot of underemployment and unemployment. Why? Because we put too much value on college degrees. And as they say, too much of anything is bad.

Look at it this way: There's nothing wrong if cashiers, bank tellers, fast food chain/restaurant/café managers, sales representatives, real estate agents, telephone operators or secretaries/administrative assistants have college degrees, especially if they chose to devote some time and money to get some tertiary education. The problem is, these kind of jobs require college diplomas in the Philippines. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in other countries, the only thing you'd have to do to land any of the aforementioned jobs is to go through high school, good grades or not. And though bigwigs of the call center industry is trying to dignify their field by accepting only college graduates among their ranks, their just adding to the problem.

I mean, I'd understand if I can find an English major in a call center. Hey, were not natural speakers of the universal language. And for an industry that caters to multinationals, someone with above average command of English is more than welcome. It's okay to find Marketing grads in call centers as well. After all, they don't call it telemarketing for nothing. And I'll let Communication majors slide, simply because they can apply communication theories to win over clients. But when you start seeing call center agents with degrees in BS Biology, Nursing, Agriculture, or AB Political Science, Public Administration or Philosophy, you can't help but raise an eyebrow. It's four or more years worth of study, and you throw it out the window just so you can earn a living. 

Now, I'm not bashing call centers. I know how hard it is to work in one, because I used to work in one. It takes a lot of willpower to stay up all night. And while your battling the call to hit the sack, you'll have to squeeze whatever brain power is left in your head so you can entertain some stranger's inquiry. Add some procedures and protocols and you got a recipe for very challenging job. But let's face it. The ultimate requirement to be an effective call center agent/telephone operator is an above average command of the English language. And we have a lot of those out of high school every year. So why the need for a college diploma?

On a related note, we also have a lot of college grads who are unemployed. Part of the problem of course is lack of job openings. Another is the person itself. If you graduated from the University of Never Heard or you got your diploma from a school that easily hands it out to students, chances are, you don't know what it takes to make a presentable resumé, or don't have the skills to make it past the initial job interview. And then, there are those who are bums by choice.

No, these aren't lazy people were talking about. These are people who want to work but are being held back by their college degree. I'm talking about someone who has a degree in BS Applied Physics, graduated with honors, has excellent communication skills and command of the English, and yet he refuses to take a job in a call center. Why? It's about pride.

This has nothing to do with the call center industry itself. Again, I have respect for it. The problem is, our Applied Physics grad prefers to get a job relative to his course and doesn't want to throw his education out the window. And why should he? For someone who sucks in Math and Science, I can only imagine what he went through just to finish the course -- hell. Unfortunately, with opportunities next to zero here in the Philippines, there's no room for our physicist to make some dough and practice his profession.

Another thing, ever noticed how some of our college grads work abroad and land a blue collar job? We got Education majors working as domestic helpers somewhere in Singapore. Or HRM graduates serving burgers in a fast food chain in the USA. And then you come to a big name private company and find a foreigner who has just about the same degree in a top-executive position. WTF??

I guess it's about time to reshape our society. Let's stop asking for college diplomas in job positions that don't need them. Such is a waste of the youth's money, time, talent and intelligence.  

Let's stop looking down on those who opted to take vocational/technical courses. For one, their probably not as fortunate as you to have some money to go four years more studying, and two, these courses are actually in demand overseas. Instead, the government and concerned educational institutions should do something to strengthen said programs. Sure, we got good mechanics, welders, butchers, care givers and carpenters, but they don't posses good communication skills. 

Or better yet, start injecting these trainings into our high school curriculum. If the government is really pushing for one more year in high school, then why not devote that last year to skills training? This way, kids are equipped with stuff they actually get to use in the real world. And for families that don't have that much, they get to save money because they can send their kids to work immediately after high school. No need to go to college just so you can get a job.

And since were on the subject of adding years in school, the government and concerned educational institutions should make sure that a kid has at least decent command of the English language before you let him/her set foot in high school. Grammar school in the Philippines is in grades one and two. If a kid gets to the sixth grade and he/she can't even construct a flawless simple sentence, it's already a hopeless case. Throw in some mastery of basic computer applications (MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint) with English proficiency, and you're opening a lot of opportunities for the kid, here and abroad.

Also, educational institutions across the nation should raise the bar higher. I mean, if other countries are treating our graduates like crap, then maybe we should raise our standards. With so many people in possession of a college diploma, there's little prestige in being a college graduate in a country like the Philippines. Unlike in some countries where college degree holders are few, and are actually specialists in a certain field of study.

In case you're getting an idea, no, I'm not promoting the abandonment of tertiary education. In fact, I encourage it. It did me wonders after all. But it's not for everybody. For those who don't want it, or don't have the resources to study for another four years, let's give them a chance to take a different route towards prosperity. This way, we don't wind up with another kid being held back by a college degree. And please, I'm tired of seeing the graduate-of-any-four-year-course crap under some job title. Let's give the graduates some dignity. Put them where they belong or might as well save our youth from four years of hardship.