ILOILO – Opening schools when there is no indication yet that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has effectively been combatted could put the health and safety of students in peril, warned Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. and Iloilo City’s Mayor Jerry Treñas.
It is their shared personal view that a one-year delay in the students’ schooling is the more prudent course of action.
The Department of Education (DepEd) recently decided to open school year 2020–2021 on Aug. 24, 2020. Education secretary Leonor Briones also called on public school teachers and employees to report back to work on June 1, 2020 to prepare for the new school year.
According to Defensor, deciding on the resumption of classes should weigh heavily in favor of students’ safety, more so because the COVID-19 health crisis remains fluid.
“Kon indi man lang kita sigurado sang epidemiology sang aton ginabantayan, ibutang na lang naton sa siguro. Nga-a? Kay puede man kahulat ang aton eskwelahan,” said Defensor.
In fact, according to the governor, nobody could say for certain that by August, the COVID-19 pandemic would have ceased.
“I will not be surprised kon indi madayun ang school year 2020-2021,” he added.
He would rather forego school year 2020-2021, according to Defensor, so that everybody could focus on overcoming SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 and which still does not have a vaccine.
“Will life grind to a halt just because schools won’t open for a year? Of course not. Kadamo man sang tawo nga nag-untat isa ka tuig nga pag-eskwela. The one-day delay is not that much when you consider the risk we’re subjecting our students if we open our schools at this time,” said Defensor.
The governor, however, acknowledged that August is still three months away and he is hopeful there would be no additional COVID-19 cases in the country, and in Iloilo in particular.
For his part, Treñas said he won’t actively encourage students to go to school at this time.
“We know the virus is still there, and the possibility of its transmission remains great if there is no physical distancing,” he said.
According to the city mayor, he would leave it to the parents to decide on their children’s schooling.
“If they will not let their children go to school, we will not insist the contrary,” said Treñas.
He added: “What is one year of school closure anyway? We’re talking about human lives here.”
PARENTS FEARFUL
A parent this paper interviewed shared the trepidation of Defensor and Treñas. Elsie Patrimonio of Barangay Ungka, Jaro, Iloilo City has an incoming Grade 7 child.
“Ka-alang-alang pa sang August kay ti may virus pa. Wala pa vaccine,” said Patrimonio.
At this time, her child’s health and well-being are her primary concern, she stressed.
“Gusto ko gid masigurado nga okay na ang sitwasyon antes magbalik sa eskwelahan ang akon bata,” Patrimonio told Panay News.
Her family’s two months of home quarantine would go to waste if her child gets infected for rushing back to school, she added.
“Kon ang bata pamangkuton, nagadali na ‘ya mag-eskwela kay boring sa balay,” said Patrimonio.
What would she and her child do if school year 2020-2021 is scrapped due to COVID-19?
So as not to waste time, Patrimonio said, she would see to it that her child reviews past lessons or perhaps prepare for Grade 7 lessons.
Noime Mantilla of Cabatuan, Iloilo and who has a 13-year-old incoming Grade 8 child shared Patrimonio’s sentiment.
“Ang klase makahulat. Naka-intindi naman karon ang mga bata sang sitwasyon naton. Importante nga masigurado ta anay nga wala na sang virus,” said Mantilla.
Arniel Lumbo of Barangay Sooc, Arevalo, Iloilo has a similar position.
“Mas importante ang kabuhi sang bata ko compared sa achievements niya sa eskwelahan,” said Lumbo who has an incoming Kindergarten 2 child.
“Unless may vaccine nga available kag magsunod ang DepEd kag mga eskwelahan sa mga health safety protocols against COVID-19,” Lumbo said, he is not in favor of opening schools in August.
TEACHERS’ CONCERNS
In a statement, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said teachers, students and parents have good reasons to question DepEd’s decision to open school year 2020-2021 on Aug. 24.
“Secretary Briones’ pep talk on fighting fears and teaching students courage does not assuage our apprehensions as they are based on our rational assessment of the country’s present condition,” according to ACT secretary general Raymond Basilio.
He pointed out that the government has not conducted sufficient mass testing and effective contact tracing, and the healthcare system continues to grapple in fighting the pandemic with very limited capacity and insufficiently addressed needs,
“As with the country’s healthcare system, the pandemic exposes as well the grave crisis in the education system. Decades of scrimping on education budget had worsened the vulnerabilities of public schools to disease outbreaks. Grave shortages in classrooms, facilities and personnel now make the implementation of minimum health standards in schools an enormous challenge,” according to Basilio.
Teachers are sure to bear the brunt of the coming school opening, he added.
“DepEd Order No. 7 subjects teachers to more work days as they are told to render service two months before opening and even on weekends during the school year. Moreover, with DepEd’s foresight that many students will be left behind due to their lack of access to needed technologies, teachers are ordered to put in extra effort for remedial and enrichment activities on top of the already burdensome blended modes of teaching,” said Basilio./PN
