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VOLUME 33 ISSUE NO. 5 THE MANILA COLLEGIAN
Five colleges set for limited F2F classes star t ing AY 2021-2022 By Rowz Fajardo, Sean Gere Pascual, and Mira Anacio
SCRUTINY
#CHEDexposed trends on social media platforms, students demand investigation By Ysabel Vidor
THE UNIVERSITY OF the Philippines Manila’s (UPM) College of Nursing (CN), College of Allied Medical Professions (CAMP), College of Public Health (CPH), College of Dentistry (CD), and College of Medicine (CM) are due to conduct limited face-to-face classes in the upcoming semester after gaining the approval of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Manila City government earlier this month. However, the two remaining colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), who were not issued permission to conduct limited face-to-face classes, and the College of Pharmacy (CP), who are yet to ask CHED’s permission, are expected to continue under a remote learning setup. As of press time, the respective college administrations are in the process of finalizing the guidelines for the said classes. FACE-TO-FACE CLASSES BEFORE AY 2021-2022
For Midyear 2021, CAMP and CD are already conducting limited face-to-face classes for interns and clinicians while CM has been continuously conducting internships since November 2020. Apart from the systematic contract tracing implemented, the said colleges required the students to be fully vaccinated and have a negative RT-PCR test a few days prior to the start of their shifts. The colleges strictly follow safety measures approved by the CHED and COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), where students with complete personal protective equipment are the only ones allowed to work. It was announced that both face masks and face shields will be provided by the colleges. Physical distancing is also strictly enforced and access to specific areas are limited and scheduled. Acrylic barriers, temperature checks, and foot-operated alcohol pumps are also stationed within the colleges. Furthermore, disinfection is also done hourly, with tags used to mark surfaces that need to be cleaned immediately, to ensure the safety of everyone on campus. In addition to the existing regulations, CD students, faculty, and staff will follow a five-ten cyclic schedule — five work days followed by ten days isolation. The UP Manila Crisis Management Committee, UPCD Crisis Management Committee, and UPCD Safety Marshals are responsible for
ART | GIAN CATIBOG
ensuring the adherence to safety regulations, rules, and policies, and ensuring a safe, less hazardous campus. If a student, faculty, or staff experience a COVID-19 symptom, it is imperative to connect to personnel to arrange RTPCR testing and conduct contact tracing.
GUIDELINES YET TO BE RELEASED
Almost all colleges are yet to release official guidelines and are currently planning to conduct town hall meetings to discuss the limited face-to-face classes for the upcoming semester. As the aforementioned colleges are expected to continue their limited face-to-face set-up, more adjustments are underway. Limited face-to-face classes in each college are to be attended only by programs and year levels that have necessary laboratory classes and manual skills that need to be practiced. For CAMP, only Physical Therapy students are permitted to attend limited face-to-face classes. As of writing, the college is working on requesting CHED’s approval to conduct limited face-to-face classes for Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy students. For CPH, their administration has provided a list of possible courses for the limited faceto-face classes through a survey form disseminated last June. The CPH student council was then informed that the college administration will be arranging a town hall meeting with the students
and parents to discuss potential plans and concerns regarding the limited face-to-face classes. However, the date is yet to be announced. Finally, for CN, some professors already informed the students that limited face-to-face classes will take place next semester. Only a minimal number of students at a time are required to attend. Moreover, other matters such as shifting and cycling of students were said to be planned soon.
REMOTE LEARNING TO CONTINUE
The Padre Faura-based college, composed of ten undergraduate programs and three masteral programs, will continue under a remote learning set-up until the upcoming semester. CAS Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (ADAA) explained that partial face-toface classes are expected to start in the second semester next year if the pandemic situation allows. On the other hand, CP is yet to ask for permission from CHED to conduct limited face-to-face classes for undergraduate students for the upcoming academic year. The college assured that there will be a series of consultations for all the student batches regarding the matter. While the student records office is organizing a system of requesting vaccine endorsements, CP faculty members are now working on the documents which will be discussed with the students and their parents.
IT IS NOT new knowledge that Filipinos are deprived of education. Based on data by the Philippine Statistics Authority, one in every 10 Filipinos within the 6-24yrs old age group is an out of school youth. With the lack of transparency in allocating the funds supposedly destined to subsidize numerous Filipino students’ education, youth organizations expressed their sentiments and infuration towards the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on social media. MISALLOCATION OF FUNDS
According to the National Union of Students of the Philippines, the PHP 3 billion budget stipulated in the report from the Commission on Audit (COA) was supposedly allocated to subsidize students from state universities for the virtual classes implemented during the pandemic. It was revealed, however, that CHED only spent Php 1 billion of the supposed budget for the flexible learning from the Bayanihan 2. The Bayanihan 2 Act, which expired last June 30, allows thousands of students who do not have the capacity to pay their tuition and miscellaneous fees to receive financial assistance amounting to Php 5,000. This was implemented last 2020 and was primarily designed for families who struggled during the pandemic. However, only students that do not come from public and state universities are qualified to avail the assistance according to CHED as these students are already receiving free tuition due to the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (UAQTE) law. Aside from this, around Php 300 million was supposed to be used to subsidize unemployed teaching and non-teaching personnel in schools and universities. The hashtag #CHEDexposed trended on different social media platforms last July 15. The College Editors Guild of Philippines (CEGP), an association for journalists, ral-
lied last July 14 online, motivated by their urgency to seek explanation from CHED on the underutilization of the budget.
CHED DENIES THE ALLEGATION
The CHED called the report inaccurate and misleading. The COA report only had details until December 31, 2020, claimed CHED chairperson Prospero De Vera III, because the timeline was delayed because of the two strong typhoons last year (Rolly and Ulysses). Due to this, CHED experienced insufficiencies in manpower that caused the majority of their programs to be implemented immediately as the projects needed the confirmation and review of experts on the onset. De Vera III posits RA 11519 or the Act Extending the Availability of Appropriations under RA 11491 which permits CHED to utilize their funds until June of this year. This was not included in the report. In the same statement released by the chairperson, the COA report did not indicate the consecutive release of funds, requirements for its release, and the enforcement of the CHED programs powered by the Bayanihan 2. He also claimed that since the law was only implemented in the last few months of 2020, they only had three months to fix the requirements. While CHED denies the allegations, Kabataan Party-list spokesperson Raoul Manuel believes otherwise. In a news report, Manuel claimed, “CHED cannot deny accusations of ‘gross negligence’ anymore. They have no serious intention of seriously pursuing the safe reopening of schools despite clamor, yet they waste funds that could have saved students from being left behind in their online classes. This is unacceptable.” That being said, the party-list continually pushes for further investigation on the matter by seeking the data of the underutilized funds to prove the Duterte regime’s negligence on upholding the right of Filipinos to education.
MAGNA EST VERITAS ET PREVAELEBIT