The Department of Education (DepEd) did not support the proposal to first implement an academic freeze or class suspension after a series of typhoons.
Some groups are calling on DepEd to stop classes first, especially in areas devastated by the series of bad weather, which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an interview, DepEd Usec said. Tonisito Umali, no country in any part of the world has suspended the reopening of classes even with pandemics.
Instead, Umali said the agency has implemented “academic ease” which aims to give students enough time to submit school requirements.
“If we make a barometer of what the whole world is doing regarding the education of children, there will be no academic freeze because we think this is the right policy, to continue. And what we see with the latest issuance is that we just become flexible, ”said Umali.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 schools in various regions have been damaged by the typhoons.
Umali said more than 448 schools in Bicol were damaged following the Super Typhoon Rolly, followed by 412 in Central Luzon, 121 in Calabarzon, 91 in Cagayan Valley, 53 in Ilocos Region, 41 in the Cordillera, 15 in Mimaropa, and nine in Metro Manila.
There are also 430 schools currently in use as evacuation centers.