The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a huge blow on the current status of many private schools in the country. The Associations of Private School Administrators (FAPSA) revealed they are affected by the current problem since they mainly depend on the tuition, matriculation, and miscellaneous fees collected from students.
“Noong nagsimula ‘yung K to 12, ‘yung senior high nagpatayo ng buildings, bumili ng property, bumili ng mga gamit… Hindi pa naming kaya magloan ulit para lang masustentuhan ang pangangailangan sa opening (When K-12, senior high started, we had to build buildings, buy properties and equipment… We cannot afford to loan again to sustain the needs for the opening) and we don’t even know if we would still get the same number of students,” FAPSA President Eleazardo Kasilag said.
Amid the concerns of educators, the Department of Education (DepEd) appealed last week to the IATF to include private schools as beneficiaries of assistance under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones explained they have been working on the matter, and added that they must seek the help of Congress on the assistance for private school teachers. On Tuesday, FAPSA confirmed in a text message that they are uplifted by the news on the move regarding their aid, even if only a few of them have received the said assistance.
FAPSA said their schools will start classes on June instead of August which was initially recommended by the DepEd as most of their students have their own laptops or cellphones that can be used for online learning. – Report from Mica Joson
