MANILA – Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chair J. Prospero de Vera III on Thursday said that statewide declaration of academic break is not needed despite escalating number of cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) among college students and teaching personnel of higher education institutions (HEIs).
“Hindi na po kailangan iyan dahil kayang-kaya na ng ating mga pamantasan na gawin iyan (It is not needed because the HEIs can declare academic breaks) on their own,” de Vera said in a Laging Handa public briefing.
As many students and teachers became ill during the first week of January, some 126 HEIs, mostly in the National Capital Region and Region 4-A (Calabarzon), announced their respective academic breaks.
Approximately 123 more HEIs are projected to declare academic break by the end of the month.
Meantime, HEIs in Region 8 (Eastern Visayas), Region 7 (Central Visayas) and Caraga remain closed for the new semester because their facilities have been badly damaged by Typhoon Odette.
De Vera noted what the HEIs need is a guide that would help them anticipate the trend and expansion of Covid-19 infection so they can easily decide on the declaration of academic break in the coming months.
The CHED intends to host regular online sessions in which HEIs can consult with health experts and obtain accurate data.
“Iyon ang critical, iyong correct information is made available. How they use that information dahil nakapag-practice na ang ating mga pamantasan ng dalawang taon, kaya na nila iyan (That is critical, that correct information is made available. How they use that information because our HEIs have done it for two years already),” de Vera said.
“Halimbawa, ang Polytechnic University of the Philippines [PUP], ang kanilang paggamit ng option ng limited face-to-face ay next school year na nila gagawin, Sa School Year [SY] 2022-2023 na sila magli-limited face-to-face dahil ang kanilang pinagtutuunan ng panahon ay palakasin at pagandahin iyong kanilang (For example, the PUP, they will use their limited face-to-face classes option next year. They’ll do limited face-to-face classes in SY 2022-2023 because they want to focus on strengthening the) online and offline delivery ng education,” he added.
The CHED issued an advisory on Tuesday noting that HEIs located in areas designated as Alert Level 3 may begin limited physical classes for all degree programs by January 31.
Netizens have criticized the decision as Covid-19 cases continue to climb across the country.
De Vera stressed that affected HEIs may postpone the resumption of classes depending on the Covid-19 situations.
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