Senior High: The right prescription

One of the most eventful observations of the Holy Week is over. Capped by a weeklong vacation or family reunions of urban dwellers in their provincial residences or preferred holiday destinations, it ended yesterday, Easter Sunday.

It culminated with a rush back home amidst throngs of faithful and vacationers who tried to compete for every available public transport space just to get a night rest before plunging into the usual regular day routines.

On the other hand, apart from the crowded beaches, those who preferred to remain in the metropolis enjoyed roads totally devoid of traffic jams and illegally parked vehicles. The scarcity, however, of public transport presented a little concern for the faithful who wished to pay homage to the Great One.

Apart from being a week for Christians all over the world to pay homage to the Great One, it was so horrific in other parts of the globe. The carnages in Brussels, Belgium and the butcheries in Iraq, were just so satanic, so unchristian. Leaving scores of fatalities, these are both dreadful and have to be condemned.

Likewise, if we should look at the period November 13 to November 20, 2015, such week was similarly eventful too. Just a week, yet, it was filled with both delightful and horrible experiences. Positively, the week held two economic summits, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and that of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

While, fortunately, we were able to host the APEC successfully and, likewise, Malaysia did it as well with flying colors, the western hemisphere, Paris, France, in particular, was rocked with bombings that resulted to more than a hundred fatalities. Likewise, Western Africa was shocked with the sudden siege by armed men at Bamako's (Mali's capital) Radisson Blu Hotel which resulted to more than 20 fatalities.

Whether these carnages were timed during the Holy Week and these summits, we do not know. The fact, however, was that Christians were in observance of such very important occasion. Likewise, in the two summits, most influential leaders whom these terrorists unequivocally hate were also in attendance. Whether deliberate or pure coincidence, we need not spend time delving on that today.

What is certain though is that these Holy Week observance and the summits and carnages will surely leave lasting imprints in the minds and hearts of the citizens all over the world. Whatever the long term consequences shall be for these butcheries, let us just wait and see. Certainly, however, it will not be farfetched that our citizens will be directly or indirectly affected by these horrifying trail of atrocities.

Likewise, in the country, setting aside the week's religious significance, this brief respite offered facts that may be useful by our economic planners. Just like previous observances, every long vacation reveals that most informal settlers or those living in the slums trace their roots in the provinces. They are here to simply find a living. Though some are fortunate enough to find one, others are frustratingly still agonizing well below hand-to-mouth existence. Left unattended, some of them opted to sniffing rugby, while others dip their hands on others' pockets to survive.

Consequently, the police forces (though trying to figure out crime prevention strategies) are just too preoccupied reactively addressing the problem. The root of the problem? Either they are too young to work or have no adequate skills or both.

So that, for all intents and purposes, the senior high is the right prescription. This is one of the best moves of the Aquino administration. While a few school owners are critical about it as it momentarily diminishes income potentials of some colleges (especially those private colleges without high school department) and some myopic parents grumble as they purely took it as additional cost, there are at least two good reasons why it is so appropriate.

For one, with the present system, our students in high school graduate below 18 years old. Our labor code is very clear on this under paragraph C Article 139 which says "…The foregoing provisions shall in no case allow the employment of a person below eighteen (18) years of age in an undertaking which is hazardous or deleterious in nature as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment." While it is true that the same labor code allows employment of workers below 18 years old, there are a lot of restrictions. Therefore, the senior high simply aligns it as graduates will be at least 18 years old. Moreover, in senior high, the students are exposed to technical or vocational trainings. Thus, if they won't pursue college and opt to work, they shall have the skills to bank on.