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MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) on Tuesday rejected requests for an academic recess across the country or in Luzon after recent typhoons, saying teachers would have to discuss the matter with their boards of regents. schools.
In a televised interview, CHEd President Prospero de Vera III said he had voted against the decision of the University of the Philippines (UP) board of regents to implement a one-week academic recess.
“I cannot support reducing the number of semester weeks because our teachers and students will be burdened by this. They would have to achieve the same learning requirements, but he is reducing it in a shorter period, ”he said.
According to De Vera, teachers would first have to consult their school’s board of regents before adjusting the academic calendar, along with dialogues with students so that they are properly aware of the situation.
At UP, the first semester had previously been shortened from 16 weeks to 14 weeks, then again to 13 weeks after the university implemented a seven-day academic break due to typhoons “Rolly” (international name: Goni) and “Ulysses ”(Vamco).
On Monday, more than 3,000 UP students and teachers asked the school administration to end the first semester immediately to allow them to rebuild their lives after Ulises’ onslaught.
Teachers argued that it was “useless” to continue the semester, as teachers and students would have to procrastinate while trying to finish their requirements on time.
But De Vera responded that schools could extend the semester through January 2021 while mitigating the impact of reducing school days by one semester rather than crowding it just a few weeks before Christmas break.
No empirical evidence
“There is a problem if you unilaterally suspend classes in schools because students will not be able to meet the requirements and that will compromise their studies. They will also have trouble developing the necessary learning skills, ”he said.
De Vera added that there were many other ways to continue learning, such as asynchronous online learning or modular learning.
“This idea that everything just stops is not based on empirical evidence because there are schools that have been connected or [are] doing flexible learning, ”said De Vera.
“It will really be ironic if the leading university in the country gives up and says they can’t keep learning. Many schools were able [continue] the semester successfully ”, he added.
In his televised press conference from Alcalá, Cagayán, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday that despite the coronavirus pandemic and recent disastrous typhoons, the government was inclined to extend classes from one to two weeks rather than implement an academic break for schools.
Regarding public schools, Roque said that the Department of Education (DepEd) was conducting “blended learning”, whose main mode of instruction is modular.
“So, they are not so affected because there is no [in-person] classes in our schools, ”he said.
With DepEd and CHEd wishing that students just had more time to meet their academic requirements and finish their studies sooner, there would no longer be a need for a “no failing” policy that various student groups have demanded.
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