‘Di kailangan! Palace opposes ‘academic freeze’ after typhoon onslaught

By Prince Golez

Malacañang on Tuesday rejected calls for an “academic freeze” following the onslaught of the recent typhoons that brought heavy flooding and major destruction in the country.

In a televised briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said education was generally not affected by the typhoons since in-person instruction has been prohibited due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Roque was reacting to Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago’s statement that educational institutions should implement an academic freeze to help students and teachers recover from the recent calamities.

“Unang una po, sa ating mga public schools, yung mga eskwelahan na nasa ilalim ng DepEd [Department of Education], tayo po ay nasa blended learning. At ang primary mode of instruction natin po ay modular. So, hindi po masyado nakaapekto dahil wala pong face-to-face classes sa lahat ng ating mga eskwelahan,” explained Roque.

For state universities and colleges, the Palace official said the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) en banc has decided to extend their academic calendars for one to two weeks.

“Pagdating po sa ating universities ay nagkaroon na po ng en banc meeting ang CHED at ang decision po ng CHED ay hindi po papayagan itong academic break na hinihingi ng ilan,” according to Roque.

“Ang decision po ng en banc ng CHED ay para mag-extend ‘yung mga pamantasan, kolehiyo na hindi nakapagklase dahil sa bagyo ng 1 or 2 weeks para matapos ang kanilang semester,” he added.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)