Various groups on Wednesday, Nov. 10, urged the national government to “build confidence” for safe school reopening by ensuring key health protection measures are in place.

In a Unity Statement, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), Agham, Coalition for People's Right to Health, National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates-Youth, Amihan, Salinlahi, Gabriela, Katribu Youth, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, ACT Teachers Partylist, Kabataan Partylist, and Anakpawis Partylist, expressed concerns on school reopening initiatives of both the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Three things

For the groups, there are three things that “hamper” the successful and significant return of students to classrooms amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

First is that the national government “who lack willpower and apt measures” to safely reopen schools.

Second is that the local government units (LGUs) and school administrations are “overwhelmed” with the great tasks passed onto them by the national government “without ample support.”

Third is that the parents and the public are “unsure if health and safety can and will be ascertained” in the resumption of in-classroom learning.

For them, the the responsibility to address these concerns “ultimately lies upon the Duterte administration.”

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2021/10/06/who-will-be-responsible-if-a-student-gets-covid-19-during-face-to-face-classes/

‘Deficient’ guidelines

For the groups, the school reopening guidelines of CHED and DepEd are “deficient of key health protection measures” that can boost the nation’s confidence and enable the safe resumption of face-to-face classes.

Given this, they claimed that students, parents, and teaching and non-teaching personnel are one in forwarding several demands to expand and speed up students’ safe return to campuses.

For the groups, weekly COVID-19 antigen testing to screen all learners, teachers, and staff who will participate in in-classroom learning and special vaccination program in areas where schools that will participate in the pilot run of face-to-face classes are located.

They also underscored the importance of retrofitting of classrooms to ensure better ventilation, with each having a minimum of two functional electric fans, and airconditioned rooms having air filters.

To ensure the health and safety of those who will participate in the pilot run, the groups called on the government to hold a mass hiring of school nurses and set up a medical fund for free treatment of those who will get infected with COVID-19.

For the groups, the national government must release additional funds to finance the identified key measures.

“It must provide subsidy to local government units and public and private school administrations to enable them to meet the gargantuan tasks that were laid upon their shoulders and not back down on the challenge or pass onto the stakeholders the costs of safely reopening schools,” they added.

Moreover, the groups urged the national government mobilize all available resources to ensure success of the pilot run of face-to-face classes.

“The achievement of which will lay the foundations for the eventual reopening of schools for the rest of the country,” they added.

As scheduled, DepEd will hold the pilot implementation of limited face-to-face classes in 100 public schools on Nov. 15.

The groups noted that out of almost 48,000 public schools nationwide, only 100 were chosen do a pilot run of face-to-face classes after almost two years since the national government imposed a blanket school lockdown in light of the COVID-19 situation in the country.

Meanwhile, in the tertiary level, the groups claimed that “only 65 higher education institutions from about 2,000 have been allowed for limited campus reopening since May 2021.”

The groups noted that apart from having “one of the longest school closure amid the pandemic,” the Philippines also has one of the “most conservative plans” for school reopening.