The Department of Education (DepEd) rejected calls for an academic break amid the rise of COVID-19 cases.

DepEd said that the academic ease would be a better option because this would lessen the burden of students while continuing with the lessons planned.

“Iyong palaging sinasabing academic break ay panawagan ng mga kabataan, pero tayo sa Kagawaran ng Edukasyon ay mayroon tayong sinasabing academic ease,” Education Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio said on Tuesday. “Naniniwala po kami na hindi naman kailangang itigil ang pagkatuto, ang kailangan ay mas maging considerate tayo sa mga sitwasyon ng bawat bata.”

According to San Antonio, being considerate of the situation of each student should be the priority of every educator. Strict deadlines for submission or requirements should not be imposed on students.

Moreover, lack of gadgets is not a sufficient “reason” to accept an academic break as students can use printed self-learning materials instead.

Earlier this week, Sen. Gatchalian also opposed having a nationwide academic break and left it at the discretion of schools to suspend classes on their own. Gatchalian noted that not all areas in the country have a surge of COVID-19 cases, so a nationwide call is not needed at present.

The DepEd has extended the current academic year by a month to all public schools as learning gaps have been observed due to the adjustment to self-learning and online classes. This was done “to meet the required essential learning competencies.”

Photo Credit: lcc.deped.gov.ph