The Department of Education (DepEd) reiterated that the opening of classes will push through on October 5 amid calls to impose an academic freeze due to the COVID-19 threat.
The DepEd said there is insufficient basis to give in to the proposed freeze. It claimed that there are now 24 million enrollees for the upcoming school year which is enough to prove that the public supports the resumption of the children’s education.
Learning activities have been placed on hold for too long and the country is now left behind by its Southeast Asian neighbors that have already resumed classes.
“We would like to dismiss this call not something that is supported by the direction of the DepEd for learning continuity. We believe that this call is a populist position that is not popular,” DepEd USec. Nepomuceno Malaluan claimed.
“The DepEd has been preparing since April and working with partners to ensure that we will be able to deliver satisfaction in various modalities,” Malaluan added.
The Federation of Associations of Private Schools and Administrators (FAPSA) also turned down the proposal of academic freeze since some schools have already opened. Learners and teachers have already adjusted to the new normal.
The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition agreed to extend the opening of classes but not to the point of an academic freeze. The DepEd must be given time to finalize the requirements of distance learning.
“‘Yung (The) January 2021 would be the safest and perhaps the most prepared time for all of us to resume classes, pero hindi namin tinatawag ito na academic freeze (but we are not calling it academic freeze),” Teachers’ Dignity Coalition Chairperson Benjo Basas said. – Report from Kenneth Paciente
