Empowering part-time students

At Issue: The denial of financial assistance to learn lifetime skills as part-time students at NMC.

Our View: Such decision illustrates hollow commitment supporting the training of local workers.

Throughout the first two decades of constitutional government, we have heard more than our share of towering speeches about the essence of educational training for our people.

But the denial of financial assistance to part-time students since last year speaks loud and clear of our knee-jerk commitment to putting teeth behind words of inspiration of preparing for tomorrows challenges.

At best, it’s a sink or swim situation for victims of the current financial crisis. At worst, we have left them to fend for themselves at a critical juncture in their quest to arm themselves with lifetime skills.

It illustrates how we deal the call for management of meager resources placing greater importance on non-essentials over the fate of students. Some of these students are single parents whose very matriculation at NMC (while working full-time jobs) deserve the accolades of politicians and bureaucrats. But it’s apparent they are the victims of bureaucratic convenience.

We have said time and again how important it is to learn to live in both good and bad times. We are swimming helplessly and hopelessly in the latter. Even against all odds of surviving the deepening crisis, policy makers have donned the role of St. Thomas of “seeing is believing”. Not surprisingly though even this convenient tool of shallow politics hasn’t opened the eyes of those charged with the responsibility to enhance the lot in the livelihood of the people they represent.

This issue merits revisiting for herein lies the “fish in boat”–industrious students guaranteed to stay and live here–as they hone their skills in their respective jobs. How do we assist them? Cut all non-essential expenditure, including several million dollars we pay for storage of personal belongings of expatriate employees. They too must come to terms with the crippled financial posture of the local government.

It’s that critical juncture for both bureaucrats and politicians to shove aside pet issues involving scarce public funds to fund programs designed to empathize and enhance the livelihood of locals struggling to better themselves so they become productive members of the Northern Marianas Community. Si Yuus Maase`!