By Gabriela Baron
The National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), an alliance of student councils in the country, urged President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to “prioritize the safe reopening of schools.”
“Supplementary to this, the government, mandated by the Constitution to ensure quality and accessible education, must take the lead in providing sufficient aid, security, and insurance to the students; to truly recognize the youth as the foundation of the country,” NUSP National President Jandeil Roperos said in a statement.
Safe reopening of schools, Roperos added, can be done by “allotting enough budget to meet the demands of education stakeholders,” such as the students, teachers, and staff.
The new school year will start in August, while the conduct of full face-to-face classes for basic education students will resume in November.
English only mode of teaching? Not so fast
NUSP also reacted to Marcos Jr.s’ call to reexamine the medium of instruction in schools, saying he wants to maintain the advantage of Filipinos as “English-speaking people.”
“The Union strongly asserts that an education system must be centered on students and their holistic development – in this way, the graduates that Filipino education produces have both the mind and the heart to further the development of the country for all and not to be subservient to foreign employers,” Roperos said.
“NUSP sees the sidestepping of humanities and social sciences as an attempt to instill ignorance and neglect of studying the history and nuances of the present socio-political crisis at hand,” she added.
The Union also expressed its disapproval against the reinstitutionalization of mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).
Marcos Jr. earlier called for the revival of ROTC.
“We urge the government to heed the calls and the immediate demands of the education emergency, to include the grassroots organizations in the planning of the safe reopening of classes, as well as to augment the education budget to help the studentry, the parents and the teachers, in delivering and ensuring quality education in our country.” –ag
