Youth groups press anew for academic break, safe return to schools
"Distant, walang learning (Distant, no learning)."
This is how various youth groups described the current learning situation in the Philippines.

In a joint statement, Kabataan Partylist Cagayan Valley, League of Filipino Students Cagayan Valley, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines - Tuguegarao, Nueva Vizcaya, League of Youth Nature, and Anakbayan Nueva Vizcaya pressed anew for an academic break and safe return to schools.
"Currently, the main goal of the schools is to create yearly graduates who will bargain wages while vying for the few job opportunities in the country. The Duterte administration has never prioritized free and quality education for all that can shape the youth to be critical and promote national development," the statement read in Filipino.
"This is why the government didn't hesitate to close schools and forced distance learning even though many are having difficulty. We can on the youth to take back the education that has been denied to us. Fight for nationalistic, scientific, and mass-oriented education."
After Venezuela reopened its schools in October, the Philippines is the only remaining country in the world where schools have continuously remained closed since the COVID-19 pandemic started.