Mayor pushes for resumption of face-to-face classes
Mayor Benjamin Magalong is pushing for the resumption of face-to-face classes in the city to prevent the learning crisis from worsening and to cut losses in students’ productivity brought about by school closures.
But this will all depend on the readiness and capability of the schools in ensuring the health and safety of the students which the mayor said has to be hastened.
The mayor said that the two years of school closure has impacted the productivity of students and according to the National Economic Development Authority, the loss when translated to monetary value would mean billions of pesos worth of losses in terms of forgone future wages and productivity.
“We have to pursue the reopening of face-to-face classes and to do that, we have to speed up putting in place all the safety systems so as not to compromise the health and safety of our students,” the mayor said.
The mayor’s Executive Asst. IV Althea Alberto said the city in coordination with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) had spelled out the guidelines for higher education institutions (HEIs) like colleges and universities intending to open a face-to-face scheme for all courses apart from non-medical ones.
The requirements include inspection by the City Health Services Office and endorsement from the city government to CHED.
She said as of Feb. 23, two universities –St. Louis University and University of Baguio — had signified intentions to conduct face-to-face classes for other courses.
For basic education institutions, guidelines are still being awaited from the Department of Education albeit the city had received a request from the Philippine Science High School.
Alberto said as parameters, schools must retrofit classrooms, facilities and schedules as they would need to limit the number or students at a time to be able to implement protocols on physical distancing, proper ventilation and others.
“It all boils down to the schools’ ability to maintain observance of the minimum public health standards,” she said.
The United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had raised the need to reopen schools saying the “risk of being in school is far greater than the risk of being in school.”
“Classroom learning must continue to avert the learning crisis aggravated by the closure because students are falling further behind in their learning and basic reading and math skills are in sharp decline for the most vulnerable students,” it said.
“Education is a powerful tool to fight poverty. Children with less schooling are more likely to live in poverty for the rest of their lives. Besides, school closure is affecting the mental health of an entire generation of children,” it warned. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
