What we believe in
The Philippine Educational SystemSAMASA-PA believes that the Filipino youth should avail of a truly nationalist, scientific, and mass-oriented education as opposed to the present colonial, commercialized, and fascist educational system – a system that manifests itself in many ways in the university, including the existence of exorbitant fees and campus repression. Commercialized. The government which is supposed to shoulder the burden of financing the education of its citizens has long ignored this most basic responsibility. The government has instead consistently allocated the largest slice of its budget pie to foreign debt servicing and military spending, making education a commodity accessible to the privileged few and not a right available to all Filipinos. Colonial. The country’s educational system promotes the interests of the more powerful countries, not of our own homeland. Filipino students and graduates are trained to be docile, colonial-minded and cheap laborers who are more than willing to offer their labor and services to foreign countries and corporations. Education thus becomes a capital which one buys as an investment for one to earn profit in the future instead of a means of acquiring skills to serve the people. Fascist. Because it is made to serve the foreign interests, the country’s educational system violently banishes all ideas and ideals that will work against these interests and that will further those of the country. What students can and must learn is pre-selected by foreign institutions or Filipinos reared in a colonial education. Resistance coming from organizations, publications, and councils are therefore preempted and suppressed. The country’s educational system, however, does not exist by itself. It grew out of a particular social and historical context. The Philippine educational system is both a product and precisely serves to reinforce and perpetuate an agrarian, backward and foreign-dominated society. A Genuine Student CouncilIn order to effectively and genuinely address the needs of the students and the people, SAMASA-PA believes that a student council must embody and advance the following principles: Militant. The SC vigorously takes the initiative whenever confronted by problems affecting the students and the university community. SC leaders should be driven by a concern for social realities and the need to take action and address injustices. To be militant is to shun passivity and neutrality, which is no different from indifference and apathy. Autonomous. The SC should not be controlled, constrained or dictated by outside forces in its decisions and actions. The SC should be a self-governing student institution that has its own internal dynamism that is free from external interference, be it from the school administration or the government. Nationalist. Nationalism is not limited to the surface-level of singing the National Anthem or wearing the Barong Tagalog. The SC leaders should inculcate deeper social awareness and nationalism in the studentry by cultivating a willingness to serve the people since the people themselves compose the nation. This means that every struggle of the students should be integrated with that of the other sectors, serving not only the studentry but also the rest of society. The SC should likewise take part in struggles against foreign domination and control in the economy, politics, culture, and all spheres of national life. Democratic. The SC upholds and defends the democratic rights and welfare of the students and the Filipino people, particularly for a quality and accessible education. The SC must also ensure democracy within its ranks by a commitment for collective leadership. | be involved |