Abstract:
The present situation of the Philippine educational system is the product of centuries of
colonization—from a tool of propagating religion to a tactic used to create generations of
western-oriented academics. But with issues of corruption here and there, even the
institution of knowledge, the Department of Education, is in question for providing
education as a constitutional right, and if so, how efficiently it is utilizing the budget that
is allotted for the department. There are numerous studies concerning the validity of these
anomalies and only a few from the perspective of the proponents of education itself: the
students. This study aims to shed light on the effects of budget allocation on public
secondary schools in Quezon City, the most populous city in the country. Data are
gathered through disseminating surveys to forty-four students from different public high
schools and conducting informal interviews with their teachers. Data gathered show a
minimal but distinct suspicion and awareness of corruption among their schools,
specifically by their school administrations. Although this might be, these students claim
this phenomenon to have no effect on their productivity as learners and are confident in
their pursuance of higher education.
