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By ANAKBAYAN-METRO BAGUIO

Student Strike – noun. occurs when the administration of a particular country fails to provide affordable and quality education that is nationalistic, scientific and mass oriented.

Thousands from the youth and the students all over the country went to the streets last year to display their disgust on the proposed 2011 education budget cut. Due to the unified efforts of the different sectors, the Aquino government was then forced to give an additional 100 million to State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), and 200 million to the University of the Philippines (research & development).

But this is not enough. Against the rising prices of basic commodities and cost of living, we are not contented. The fact that the Aquino administration chose to place education and social services as his last priority shows a distorted image of his so-called “tuwid na daanan.” The fact that there will be a 1.1 billion cut in the budget for SUCs trashes the right to free education. Unless the current administration stops the commercialization and privatization of education, we will never be contented!

This year, progressive youth organizations such as ANAKBAYAN, League of Filipino Students, College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines, National Union of Students in the Philippine gives a notice of strike against the 1.1 billion budget cut in SUCs.

The youth, students and other sectors involved in Metro-Baguio and Benguet will be affected by this budget cut. The University of the Philippines Baguio, which has already increased its tuition and other fee by 300 % in 2007, and Benguet State University, which on the other hand has complaints of exorbitant fees, are among the state universities that can be affected.

We call on the youth and the students, from public and private universities and colleges, in Metro-Baguio and Benguet to join us in this coming student strike.

Whereas the Aquino administration prioritizes his political allies and public-private partnerships such as the promotion of wide-scale mining in the Cordillera over education shows the failure of the administration to heed the anguish of the people.

We will be educating the youth on this issue. We will be conducting activities and programs that will mobilize the youth, students and other sectors for the student strike. We will be raging in the streets.

This is a declaration of a student strike.

We invite you to our upcoming activity entitled “STRIKE your POSE, POSE your STRIKE!” on February 2, 2011 at Malcolm Square, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. # nordis.net