A group on Monday, Nov. 22, urged the public to report possible concerns of academic and non-academic personnel on the preparation and on the actual resumption of face-to-face classes nationwide.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Private Schools enjoined the public to call for safe reopening of schools through a signature campaign.

The group also relaunched its help desk called “COVID-19 Hotline Assistance for Teachers in Private Schools – Bantay Ligtas na Balik-Paaralan Project (CHAT-BLBP).”

“Complacency should have no place in all of this,” ACT Private Schools Secretary General Dr. Jonathan Geronimo said at the start of the pilot run of face-to-face classes in selected private schools nationwide.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2021/11/22/18-out-20-chosen-private-schools-push-through-with-pilot-face-to-face-classes-on-nov-22/

“We shall continue to press on with vigilance, making a resounding and clear demand to the government that this resumption is long overdue and that the public desires an inclusive, transparent, and humane approach to make this a true success,” he added.

While the recent developments were welcomed by the group, ACT Private Schools reminded the Duterte administration to “prioritize policies safeguarding the health of the students and school personnel.”

This, Geronimo said, can be done by allocating adequate funds to support private education institutions --- particularly on the hazard pay and medical benefits of the employees.

Geronimo also highlighted the necessity to ensure free and regular coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing --- especially to all learners, teachers, and staff once in-person classes officially resume in allowed cities and provinces.

“It is crucial that this shall include special vaccination programs and comprehensive mitigation or contamination plans, accommodating all worst possibilities including immediate isolation and subsidized treatment for those who will be infected from the virus,” Geronimo explained.

The campaign, the group explained, emphasizes the “critical democratic and economic concerns relevant to the resumption of face-to-face classes.”

This include the need to engage all education stakeholders through consultations to guarantee that all concerns rising from various levels are “consolidated, represented, and addressed.”

The group is also pushing for the lowering of taxes for small and medium private schools to “ensure job security of personnel” amid the continuing pandemic.

For ACT Private Schools, the success of the pilot run will be integral to the eventual reopening of schools. Thus, the state should “maximize all the resources at its disposal to secure safe resumption of in-person classes.”