The government has been urged to provide students with P10,000 emergency cash assistance to cover for their educational expenses following the shift to distance learning amid the ongoing pandemic.

The Kabataan Party-list said families were forced to sacrifice the educational needs of their children, adding that the pandemic-induced economic crisis and lockdowns “have pushed many households to the brink of hunger.”

“Let’s commend hardworking students not by romanticizing their struggles but by lifting economic burdens that do not belong to them,” Kabataan Party-list national spokesperson Raoul Manuel said in a statement Sunday, May 30.

“Granting P10,000 unconditional emergency cash aid for all students and dropouts is the least the government can do to fill the gap while we continue seeking accountability against Pres. Duterte’s dismal pandemic response,” he added.

The group lamented that the government’s “sluggish and messy rollout of testing and vaccination” efforts have made the resumption of the traditional face-to-face classes “far from reach.”

Citing a survey conducted by the Movement for Safe, Equitable, Quality, and Relevant Education (SEQuRe), Manuel pointed out that 20 percent or 1 out of 5 students surveyed said they cannot keep up with the costs that come with flexible learning.

“How can we teach a man how to fish, if we can’t even feed them?,” he said. “Empty stomachs make empty minds!.”