Malacañang rejected Tuesday the plea of students for an academic break, many of whom used the hashtag #AcademicBreakNOW on social media, following successive typhoons that devastated parts of the country.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has decided to reject calls for an academic break from college students. The CHED would instead push for an extension of the semester, he added.
“…ang decision po ng CHED ay hindi po papayagan itong academic break na hinihingi ng ilan, kung hindi ang desisyon po ng en banc ng CHED ay para mag-extend po iyong mga pamantasan, mga kolehiyo na hindi nakapag-klase dahil sa bagyo ng one or two weeks para po matapos ang kanilang semestre,” Roque said.
The Department of Education (DepEd) also dismissed calls for an academic break, saying it has already started implementing “academic ease” measures to help teachers and students who were in areas that bore the brunt of successive typhoons.
“Wala nagka-academic freeze dahil palagay po namin ito ang tamang polisiya, ang magpatuloy. At nakikita po natin with the latest issuance ay maging flexible na lang tayo,”DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali said in a Teleradyo interview.
Roque said classes for basic education were not affected that much because the DepEd was implementing distance learning.
He made the remark even as several areas in Luzon were devastated by a series of typhoons leaving many homes flooded or destroyed.
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