North Cotabato Youths Shout For Quality Education

Some 200 mostly students hold a rally Tuesday, June 23, 2009 in Kidapawan City in Mindanao to demand for equality and better education. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geo Solmerano)

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 24, 2009) – Some 200 mostly students held a rally in Kidapawan City in Mindanao to demand for equality and better education.

The students said they gathered Tuesday to show that they too, are part of those who want change in the government education system.

Many of them - members of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) and Kabataang Artista para sa Tunay na Kalayaan (KARATULA) - came from different municipalities in North Cotabato.

"We just want to be heard," Ronnel Albiso, KARATULA president, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Albiso said they calling on the government to prioritize free education and to sustain various literacy programs in the country that will benefit the youth and make them better citizens in the future.

The students carried banners and placards that advocated quality education and better governance. The peaceful rally coincided with the celebration of the “All Youth and Students Day of Protest." (Nina Rodriguez)