(We yield this space to the statement of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers of the Philippines due to its timeliness. – Ed.)
ON NOV. 15, only 100 out of almost 48,000 public schools will do a pilot run of face-to-face classes, 20 long months since the national government ordered a blanket school lockdown in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the tertiary level, only 65 higher education institutions from about 2,000 have been allowed for limited campus reopening since May 2021. Apart from having one of the longest school closure amid the pandemic, the country also has one of the most conservative plans for school reopening.
Three things hamper the successful and significant return of students to classrooms: (1) the national government that lacks willpower and apt measures to safely reopen schools; (2) the local government units and school administrations who are overwhelmed with the great tasks passed onto them by the national government without ample support; (3) the parents and the public who are unsure if health and safety can and will be ascertained in the resumption of in-classroom learning. Ultimately, the responsibility lies upon the Duterte administration.
The Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education’s guidelines for school reopening are deficient of key health protection measures that can boost the nation’s confidence and enable the safe resumption of face-to-face classes. Students, parents, and teaching and non-teaching personnel are one in forwarding the following demands to expand and speed up students’ safe return to campuses:
1. Weekly COVID-19 antigen testing to screen all learners, teachers, and staff who will participate in in-classroom learning;
2. Special vaccination program in areas where schools that will participate in the pilot run of face-to-face classes are located;
3. Retrofitting of classrooms to ensure better ventilation, with each having a minimum of two functional electric fans, and air-conditioned rooms having air filters;
4. Mass hiring of school nurses;
5. Medical fund for free treatment of those who will get infected with COVID-19.
The national government must release additional funds to finance the identified key measures. It must provide subsidy to local government units and public and private school administrations to enable them to meet the gargantuan tasks that were laid upon their shoulders and not back down on the challenge or pass onto the stakeholders the costs of safely reopening schools.
The national government must mobilize all available resources to ensure success of the pilot run of face-to-face classes. The achievement of which will lay the foundations for the eventual reopening of schools for the rest of the country.
