“It would NOT be best to open classes earlier than August” says UPang

“It would NOT be best to open classes earlier than August” says UPang

› Rose Andrei V. Sanchez

Last March 16, 2020,Philippines have been under Extended Community Quarantine due to the unstoppable spread of Corona Virus. This pandemic resulted to closing of schools and universities nationwide.

ECQ should have lasted only for a month but due to increasing number of positive cases especially in Luzon, quarantine is still applied affecting the economical development of the country, hunger of Filipinos under poverty and the academical continuation of students.

President Rodrigo Duterte stated that face-to-face classes will not resume unless there’s a vaccine for the said virus, contradicting with the Department of Education’s earlier announcement that face-to-face classes are safe to resume on August 24 in areas with eased quarantine protocols.

As a response to this, PHINMA University of Pangasinan released an official statement last 25th of May in regards to the continuation of classes for the academic year 2020-2021 indicating “We agree with many experts that it would NOT be best to open classes earlier than August”.

Online classes won’t be applied as UPang recognizes that not all students are equipped for this. However, according to Sir Adele Traspe, the director of CSDL, Upang sees the delay of classes as an opportunity to develop a learning system considering the factor of social distancing and to sanitize the campus to ensure the safety of students when classes start.

UPang’s response to the crisis are highly appreciated by the students, parents and staffs. As they consider the safety and the capability of everyone especially on the financial aspect.

Staffs and educators are also readying themselves with a curriculum that would match the “new normal” education during coronavirus pandemic. The current statements of our President and DepEd, however, left many teachers, students and also parents confused on what to follow.

Arguments on whether it is safe to resume face-to-face classes in August are everywhere and even students especially college are debating that if they didn’t attend classes due to their safety, their subjects and units will have to be delayed. They are torn between their safety and their will to graduate.

UPang understands this crisis and ensures that they will reorganize the classes to maximize the time to remain safely at home, maintain safe physical distancing in school and still prepare everyone for their chosen profession.

As a part of the “new normal” curriculum, added hygiene equipment is seen once you enter the campus, guards and staff are also following the precautionary safety gears like face masks, face shields, and gloves. Students upon entering will have to undergo a series of safety measures. Health Assessment Questionnaire will also be answered by every student.

There will be face to face classes for students but will only last for four days in 2 weeks following a 4-10 curriculum whereas, four days face to face and 10 days school work at home. This will help in observing if a student has symptoms of the COVID-19 virus. Social distancing will also be observed in every classroom with a maximum of 25 students per room. Facilities like Student Plaza and Registrar will also have social distancing factor.