Outgoing Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua is hoping the next administration will take the resumption of full face-to-face classes “very seriously,” pointing out the reduced capacity in classrooms is an obsolete rule.
Chua said in a virtual briefing yesterday he had earlier sent letters to Education Secretary Leonor Briones and Health Secretary Francisco Duque on the dismantling of restrictions in schools.
“I have personally wrote Secretary Briones and Secretary Duque twice, in March and in May, and we have had many discussion in the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) and through messages, so these have been communicated and I hope it will be part of the transition message of Secretary Briones to incoming Vice President and (education) Secretary (Sara) Duterte,” Chua said.
“The NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) mandate covers development, and for us education is a foundation of development, so I hope this will be taken very seriously. The repercussion on the children’s present and future development are very much affected by their ability to learn better,” he added.
In his speech, Chua said while the country’s recovery is very evident as risks are managed better, there is increased vaccination rate and the economy is continuously opening, the recovery of the education sector has significantly lagged behind.
Chua shared a personal story to illustrate his point.
“I mentioned earlier that when I entered government, (my son) Ashby was only one year old. Now, he is almost seven years old. He spent his entire Kinder and Grade 1 studying online. He is now in Grade 2 and is only going to school every other week due to an existing one-meter rule inside the classroom that effectively reduced capacity to just 50 percent. This obsolete rule has to go, especially since the entire country is in alert level 1 or 2,” Chua said.
“Ashby and other children can go to the malls, play in the streets and even travel, yet they cannot fully have face-to-face classes. This is very unfortunate. For many Filipinos who do not have power, money or influence, a good education serves as the stepping stone to realizing their potential and securing a better future. I was one of them. With all our children safely back inside their classrooms, our recovery from the pandemic will be stronger and their future more secure,” he added. – Angela Celis
