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MANILA – The University of the Philippines has rejected the students’ request to postpone the start of the academic year due to concerns about the shift to distance learning.
On their social media accounts, the UP Student Regent Office said their appeal was rejected by the UP Board of Regents, the decision-making body of the UP system.
BREAKING: UP The Board of Regents rejects our appeal, UP to move forward with the opening of classes on September 10th.
We firmly and firmly reiterate our demands to ensure safe, free, accessible and quality education in the midst of the pandemic! #PostponeClassesUP #WalangIwananUP pic.twitter.com/84Q9VayaWZ
– UP Regent Student Office (@uposr) September 2, 2020
“We firmly and firmly reiterate our demands to guarantee a safe, free, accessible and quality education in the midst of the pandemic,” said the Office of the Regent Student of the UP.
With the rejection, the country’s main state university would continue to begin its academic year on September 10.
UP will switch to remote learning methods as face-to-face classes continue to be prohibited due to the ongoing threat of COVID-19, which has infected more than 226,000 people in the country.
The Office of the Student Regent has said that nearly 10,000 UP System students signed its online petition, which called for a postponement of the opening of the school as many students are not ready for remote learning.
“Most of the students have been firm in stating that we are currently not confident enough to say that UP can follow the remote learning system without leaving any student behind,” the petition reads.
The petition also said that students who are not covered by the free tuition law and have financial constants may not be able to keep up with the demands of remote learning.
“The breakdown of tuition and other school fees has yet to be officially released and details of student financial aid applications have not yet been widely released,” he added.
There were no immediate comments from UP officials on the matter.
The university has launched a donation drive to provide desktop or laptop computers and Internet connectivity to some 5,600 students who cannot afford the switch to remote learning.
University of the Philippines, UP Board of Regents, UP Student Regent Office, school opening, UP school opening postponement, remote learning, flexible learning, education, higher education, school opening COVID- 19, COVID-19 pandemic
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