Makabayan solons to DepEd, CHEd: Heed calls for nat’l academic break

This November 6, 2020, photo shows an aerial view of the province of Catanduanes after it was devasted by Typhoon Rolly last November 1. MARK ALVIC ESPLANA/ INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON.

MANILA, Philippines — Makabayan bloc lawmakers in the House of Representatives have urged the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to heed clamors for a national academic break following the successive onslaught of typhoons despite the existing coronavirus pandemic.

In a House resolution filed Tuesday, the legislators noted that five typhoons have hit the country within at least a month, the last three of which killed at least 100 people and caused around P25 billion-worth of devastation.

They likewise pointed out that the country has been placed under a state of calamity due to the coronavirus pandemic and another state of calamity in Luzon is “currently impending as the circumstances were aggravated by typhoons and other natural calamities.”

READ: NDRRMC recommends declaration of state of calamity in entire Luzon

The lawmakers particularly called the attention of DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones, CHEd chairman Popoy de Vera, and President Rodrigo Duterte to immediately take action on the outcries of students and teachers.

“We demand the immediate declaration of a national academic break in light of recent calamities and in consideration of the physical and mental well-being of students, teachers, and their families, especially those extremely affected by the typhoons’ onslaught,” they said in the resolution.

According to them, an academic break can help students and their families cope with the recent calamities, as well as adjust and ease up on its effects on their well-being and livelihood.

The break can also be used to assess the current education situation and the needs of the stakeholders to identify and implement necessary adjustments to academic workloads and learning set-up.

KGA