University of the Philippines (UP) - Diliman professors appealed to the school administration to end the semester immediately, saying that the disasters and pandemic will set an "unjust workload and mental burden" on students and teachers.
“Students and faculty alike are subjected to an unjust workload and mental burden on top of the anxieties that the pandemic has inflicted,” they added.
The professors stated that teachers are compelled to finish the semester in the span of 13 weeks, with "little to no consideration for cancellations and breaks."
Apart from terminating the semester, they pushed that grades from the current semester will not be included in the computation of the general weighted average in consideration of the various factors that limit students from learning effectively.
“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 professors' 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 declared the delay of synchronous and asynchronous activities from Nov. 16 to 21 to give time for the community to recover from the typhoon.
Regardless of previous calls to implement an academic freeze, the national government insisted on opening the school year 2020-2021 despite the limited access of students and teachers to the internet and technology amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Words by Lalaine Vergara Layout by Kiziah Magbanua
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