A students' group on Sunday, July 11, hit the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for only spending half of its funds allocated under the Bayanihan 2 for online learning.

Citing a recent report from the Commission on Audit, the National Union of Students of the Philippines said P3 billion was supposed to be for financial and material assistance for state universities for the implementation of the ongoing flexible learning, however, CHED only used about P1 billion.

"The report only confirms that the government has no plans on hastening its actions to help the students and teachers alike. CHED's ineffective implementations and slow progress hinder students all over the country to quality and accessible education," NUSP National President Jandeil Roperos said.

NUSP said the mishaps with the usage of the budget "cost students available financial aid to help them in their education amid the pandemic."

"If the government and its agencies are truly serious in helping the country to end this crisis, they must do so by performing their job and ensuring that all its budget is used properly to overcome hindrances and prevent inefficiency in the overall response toward the pandemic," Roperos added.

The group urged CHED to "urgently act and efficiently use its resources" to prepare for the gradual and safe resumption of classes.

"At a time when students dropping out are at an all-time high, CHED must take a step to re-assess and note that prolonged flexible learning setup has arguably caused more harm than good," Roperos ended.