A group of Philippines teachers has urged the government to reconsider reopening schools on 24th August due to coronavirus.
The country which has recorded over 13,000 cases and 846 fatalities due to the virus is still recording new cases and the group of teachers argued that the date was too close and the virus may not have been contained during that time.
Philippines teachers group arguments against reopening
Philippines Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) Chairperson Benjo Basas, in a statement, said the country might end up facing enormous challenges of containing the virus if the government pushes ahead and reopens the school on August 24th.
The statement continued by assessing the current coronavirus situation in the country. The chairperson said, testing has of the coronavirus cases in the country just started a few weeks ago, reopening the schools by august, therefore, might not be realistic since the country will still be recording cases by then.
The schools were supposed to be reopened in June. However, the Department of Education (DepEd) pushed the dates to August due to rising cases of coronavirus in the country.
Push for reopening
When schools finally reopen, education stakeholders have argued that it might not be necessary for students to attend the classes physically. They said that there would be alternatives, such as online platforms and printed modules.
However, for Baas, this will lead to many students from marginalized regions miss out on education.
The Department of Education has however, urged teachers to use any method they want to proceed with when the schools finally reopen. They argued this would enable flexibility and ensure students are able to continue with their studies.
However, many are not convinced the plan to reopen schools fast will work. They argued that teachers and students might test negative for coronavirus today and tomorrow they get infected. This would mean a transmission in schools that would, in turn, be dispersed to homes of students and teachers.
The Philippines’ teachers group, therefore, said the solution was to postpone reopening schools until the situation was a hundred percent safe.
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