I know a list like this could go on forever but here is a start, 1. On the subject of road improvement they are widening the concrete road beside us which i am grateful for BUT there's always a but, i am not a civil engineer or road widening expert but i think the in charge must have the drawing upside down as they have started widening the part furthest from town and working their way back. This of course means back hoes, big trucks and cement mixer trucks thundering up and down the narrow road causing havoc with the internet and electric wires and also water pipes. I would have started at the town and worked my way up on the new wide road, just my opinion, if i said anything they would probably tell me they always do it that way.
Just a guess but. By starting away from town all the low hanging wires will be removed on the first trip down the road by the cement trucks. If the replacement wires are hung too low they will get removed. Rinse, wash, repeat.
2. Yesterday my wife's two nieces were sent home from school mid-morning due to the rain, i could not understand this as they were already at school, the rain was forecast days ago so why not suspend classes the day before, surely the rain cannot harm them inside the school, so they made the journey home on their motorbike in heavy rain (dangerous) When my wife asked them why they did not wait in the school until the rain was off or not so heavy they replied that all the teachers left the school so they had to go. We went into town for lunch and the streets were full of kids wandering around in the rain, Robinsons mall was full of kids, maybe the parents were at work and they could not go home. All in all i think the decision to suspend classes mid-morning was lacking common sense and definitely not done in the best interest of the pupils. Maybe the teachers enjoyed their extra time off though
It's my experience that every decision made at school, by the school or their heirarchy, is foremost to the benefit to the employees (teachers etc.) and the kids are just a secondary effect of those decisions. Forethought and common sense play no part in any of the decision making processes.
I recall someone I know, attending a State High school here, being sent a text by a 'teacher' at about 9 pm on a Sunday with a list of materials to bring in to school the next morning - i.e. after all stores have closed and maybe many families already being asleep. Parents here are scared to question teachers but I sent a message asking why this requirement was not requested on the Friday and received no acceptable reply, except that the teacher was a newbie! So what do they do during teacher 'training' (assuming there are no common-sense genes here)? I have also heard that some teachers (and I do not wish to paint all teachers in the same colour as there are some very good ones - albeit, very few) do personal shopping during the school day and the kids remain alone in the classroom. There has been much discussion from the rulers (unintended pun) about how to drag the country up from near the bottom of the World's leagues in education (in fact, educational standards here have deteriorated over recent decades) and the first thing to sort out is educating the educators or else the cycle of the uneducated teaching the wanting-to-be-educated will continue. One way to do this is to import talent (IF it wants to come!) into teacher training colleges to give them a boost BUT in a country that thinks it tops the world, it is a big issue to ask the outside world to help.
Who is interested in a good education of the young generation ? The government ? The rulers ? The church ? The teachers ? The parents ? The pupils ? If you can find an answer to this question it might answer your question why they sent home pupils during heavy rain, or why teachers are often not in the school due to private obligations.
Honestly, I don't think the Government is interested in furthering education standards. Keep the masses relatively stupid and obedient, and the ruling classes can just continue to remind them how fantastic they are, by bunging a few pesos around at election times.
There is only a very small job market for college grads. When I was working here, my male admin had a masters in E.E., hoping to eventually find a better position in that high tech company.
