Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 15) — Professors from the University of the Philippines-Diliman called on the school administration to immediately end the semester, saying the remote learning set-up and the recent calamities have placed an “unjust workload and mental burden” on students and teachers alike.
“With only three weeks left to finish the semester, discounting the time needed to recover by those affected by the recent typhoons, the pressure to finish the remaining days of the semester has exacerbated to the point of inhumanity,” read a statement released on Sunday signed by 134 faculty members from various departments in the university.
The signatories pointed out that academic institutions nationwide have already been “forced to conduct classes” despite calls to freeze the academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The national government’s insistence to open the school year through distance learning discriminates against those who have limited access to gadgets and technology, they said.
“Students and faculty are subjected to an unjust workload and mental burden on top of the anxieties that the pandemic has inflicted,” they added. “In UP, teachers are compelled to finish the semester within a mere 13 weeks with little to no consideration for cancellations and breaks.”
Apart from immediately terminating the semester, faculty members asked that the UP administration halt additional requirements and release new policies such as implementing a “pass or DRP” grading system, in lieu of the numerical one.
More consideration must also be given to students affected by typhoons, they said.
Additionally, grades from the current semester should be excluded in the computation of the general weighted average considering the various limitations in learning.
The signatories also called on the fast-tracking and augmentation of financial aid for faculty-graduate students, and the temporary suspension of the maximum residence rule, promotion, and tenure clocks for all faculty members.
“Lastly, we urge the UP administration to hold this government accountable for all its injustices and neglect that led to the magnitude of our affliction,” the statement read.
“The struggles of the academic community will not be over no matter how many times we help our students and faculty — it will not be over until (President Rodrigo) Duterte steps down.”
The UP administration has announced the suspension of both synchronous and asynchronous activities from Nov. 16 to 21 to allow a recovery period for members of the community affected by the typhoons which have battered in succession several areas in the country.
Earlier, a number of students from the Ateneo de Manila University have petitioned for an academic strike to protest the government’s response to the recent disasters and the coronavirus crisis.
“We strike in solidarity with the students who are victims of calamities and of COVID-19, who cannot be expected to catch up with their studies within three to five working days,” the petition read. “From the beginning, no student should have been left behind.”
According to The GUIDON, the official student publication of ADMU, the petition has garnered more than 500 signatories as of Sunday afternoon.
