HEAR US: Students from Saint Louis University (SLU) and other universities in Baguio City light candles in front of SLU’s main gate on Oct. 30 to ask for a two-week academic break following reports of self-harm among students unable to bear the pressure of online learning. (PHOTO COURTESY OF NATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS OF THE PHILIPPINES CORDILLERA)
BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of the University of the Philippines (UP) Baguio has suspended the submission of school requirements and postponed all scheduled examinations next week amid mounting calls from students here for an academic break.
In a memorandum issued on Oct. 30, Rosemary Gutierrez, UP Baguio vice chancellor for academic affairs, said the move was in response to the request of the students to “have a more relaxing reading or wellness break” from Nov. 2 to Nov. 8.
The memorandum, which was addressed to all UP Baguio faculty and lecturers, also postponed the exams initially slated from Nov. 9 to Nov. 10 to allow the students to have more time to complete their requirements and prepare for the tests.
Francesca Kapunan, chair of the UP Baguio university student council, welcomed the academic break, noting that the administration of universities should be working closely with the students.
She said UP Baguio had already scheduled an academic break prior to the start of the semester in anticipation of the challenges that online learning would entail.
“We likewise enjoin administrators of other Baguio schools to heed the call of their students for an academic break,” Kapunan told the Inquirer in a private message on Monday.
Alarming
Kapunan and other officials of various university student councils in the city had recently appealed for a citywide academic break, citing the rising number of self-harm incidents among students due to pressure from their studies.
In their Oct. 30 letter to Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Baguio City Rep. Mark Go and Sangguniang Kabataan president Levy Llyod Orcales, the student leaders cited the heavy workload and the academic pressure as the reasons why some students committed suicide.
At least two cases of suicide have been recorded among the Saint Louis University (SLU) students since last year, said SLU student council president Mystica Rose Angelica Bucad in a text message. She said similar incidents were still being confirmed.
ONE IS ENOUGH Youth groups in Baguio City raise concern over suicide incidents involving Saint Louis University students during a protest action in front of the university’s main gate on Oct. 30. —PHOTO COURTESY OF NATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS OF THE PHILIPPINES CORDILLERA
“Regardless of the number, two youths giving up their precious lives because of academic pressure is still alarming to our institutions and the whole community,” Bucad said.
Mental health
The students were asking their universities to hold the academic break from Nov. 12 to Nov. 17, saying these institutions could not “expect quality output if students and faculty are hindered from having a break to regain their sanity.”
They added: “Students’ mental health is affected when they study for long periods without taking breaks and compromise their work. We can’t afford to lose more lives just to boost our institution’s academic achievements.”
On. Oct. 20, about 400 students of SLU and other student organizations in the city staged a lightning protest and a candle-lighting ceremony in front of the university’s main gate to demand an academic break.
“In a time when the state’s poor response to the pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of the students, SLU should live up to its Catholic name and show its utmost compassion to the Louisians’ plight,” League of Filipino Students-SLU said in a statement.
But the SLU administration, which has yet to respond to the students’ call, said the protest had caused an “unnecessary uproar in an otherwise peaceful request [for academic break].”
In a statement on Sunday, SLU said the alleged cases of “self-harm” among some of its students were still “unverified.”
“We are not discounting the reality of such unfortunate circumstances and we deeply value the sanctity of each and every life,” the university said.
It said various units of the university had “painstakingly ensured” that the needs of the students were addressed amid the challenges of flexible learning.