Calling it a “gross misplacement” of priorities amidst the country's worsening education crisis, a group of education workers on Sunday, July 21, strongly criticized the government's plan to build a Taylor Swift-ready stadium at Clark Airport.
“As we approach Brigada Eskwela next week, it's appalling to see the government prioritizing a concert venue over the urgent needs of our education system," said Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Chairperson Vladimer Quetua in a statement.
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"This decision clearly demonstrates how out of touch our leaders are with the realities faced by millions of Filipino students and teachers,” he added.
Quetua emphasized the stark contrast between the proposed stadium project and the severe shortages plaguing the education sector.
The country’s basic education system, Quetua said, is “facing a staggering shortage” of 165,000 classrooms and over 100,000 teachers.
“Add to that the persistent backlogs in learning materials for the coming school year,” Quetua said. “These are the real issues that demand immediate attention and resources from our government," he added.
Quetua also questioned the wisdom of investing in infrastructure that primarily caters to entertainment when basic educational needs remain unmet.
"How can we justify building a stadium for international pop stars when our own children are crammed into dilapidated classrooms if they're lucky enough to have classrooms at all?” he asked. “This project may benefit a few, but it's certainly not addressing the needs of the majority of our people, especially our students,” he added.
ACT then called on the government to “reassess its priorities and redirect funds” towards addressing the critical shortages in education.
"Instead of dreaming about Taylor Swift concerts, our government should be losing sleep over how to provide quality education to every Filipino child,” Quetua said.
“We demand that they cancel this misguided project and channel those resources into building classrooms, hiring teachers, and producing learning materials. That's the kind of 'infrastructure' our nation truly needs,” he added.
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