Senators urge gov’t to postpone classes, or ‘work around the virus’

MANILA, Philippines — Some senators on Tuesday weighed in on the opening of classes in August after President Rodrigo Duterte himself opposed the resumption of “face-to-face” classes without a vaccine to treat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

“Even though the President has expressed his views on the issue, this should not stop education stakeholders from fine-tuning the ways which will allow our young to learn amidst the pandemic without making them sick,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said in a statement.

“Finding alternatives to face-to-face instruction is like answering a multiple choice test. To be sick should not be one of them,” he added.

DepEd earlier announced that the school year 2020 to 2021 will open, physically or through online, on August 24.

The department is eyeing the use of information communication technology platforms, television, and radio in delivering lessons to students during the pandemic.

“I have high confidence in the ability of the teachers of this land to adapt to the new normal, more so if they are empowered with the right tools to make a learner-centered adjustment,” Recto went on.

“In the meantime, let us work on our IT infrastructure to close the digital divide. The role of telcos —including the third one — to ramp up internet speed and penetration is crucial if lessons will be coursed via broadband,” he added.

According to the senator, education should be seen as an essential activity.

“Our failure to work around the virus will spawn a lost generation that will hurt the future of this country. It will harm children of poor families who have embraced education as a ticket out of poverty. It will widen the gap between rich and poor,” he said.

“Finding a system of instruction in which learning will not be hazardous to a child’s health is hard. One particularly big challenge is how children in low-income households can cope with distance education or homeschooling,” he added.

But for Senator Risa Hontiveros, she said the opening of classes should be postponed.

“Safety first para sa mga bata (for our children). Bilang Mama (As a mother), I can’t imagine risking the life and health of our children. We have to postpone the opening of classes as we think of alternative infrastructures for home-based learning. Sa ngayon, sa tingin ko ay hindi pa handa ang DepEd dito (I think DepEd is yet ready for this),” Hontiveros said in a separate statement.

“We should use this time to prepare and innovate on alternative modes of learning. Para sa mga anak natin, kailangan ang tripleng pag-ingat (For our children, we need to triple the caution),” she added.

Senator Sonny Angara likewise backed a postponement of the opening of classes.

“I think August may be too soon to open schools and that it can be pushed back a few weeks or months. This however requires amending the law,” he said in a message to reporters.

The senator was referring to Section 3 of Republic Act No. 7977, or the Act on Lengthening of School Calendar, which specifically provides that the school year shall start on the first Monday of June but not later than the last day of August.

EDV