The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairperson Prospero De Vera who seems to be living on his own planet recently suggested in an ambush interview the removal of necessary school breaks.
The detached chairperson said, “Yung Christmas break after the second week of December, you put a Christmas break because students have to go home, they’re not going home. They’re already at home.”
“Isa pa kasing worry ng mga schools is yung may summer break. Eh di, tanggalin mo yung summer break, mag 2 semesters ka ng school year, no more summer,” Prospero added
With only three months since the beginning of the blended online classes, Angelites have already suffered so much from overloaded assignments and activities, slow internet connections, inadequate gadgets, or lack thereof. Add to that the emotional and mental stress brought upon the COVID-19 pandemic due to lack of social interaction and students stuck in toxic environments in their homes.
Meanwhile, three Filipino students have already taken their lives succumbing to the mental distress brought upon the blended learning set-up, and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is insensitive for the CHED chairperson to suggest the removal of these needed breaks especially now that there is currently an ongoing campaign to give the students a much-needed break from the emotional, physical, and financial toll of the pandemic and push-through of classes.
The Angelite, the official student publication of the Holy Angel University reiterates our demands for the Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Education to snap back to reality and ensure the safety, and the well-being of the Filipino youth in the country.
The publication is also confident that the Holy Angel Administration will stay to true to its commitment to offering accessible and quality education by not adhering to these out of the world suggestions of the CHED chairperson.
We call on the Angelites and the Filipino youth to continue amplifying our demands for a Ligtas na Balik Eswela, and free mass testing. While we continue to struggle, let us not forget the very root of these crises which is the corrupted, tyrannical and fascist regime of President Rodrigo Duterte.
#OustDuterte
#LigtasNaBalikEskwela
#MassTestingNow
#AcademicEase