The academic freeze is the best option for Filipino students for now

In the Philippines, a 20-year-old student from Capiz died of a motorcycle accident on her way home,
while another 20-year-old student from Masbate climbed a mountain; both were searching for a signal
just to submit their academic requirements.

Why do we still romanticize underprivileged Filipino academic resilience and sacrifice the lives of
the “hope of the future” — when there is still no nationwide mass testing — just to resume classes?

With a mental health pandemic and digital divide cutting deeper into our educational system, an
“academic freeze” must be considered — at least, until and unless the curve has flattened and mass
testing has been made and proven effective. At most, a vaccine against COVID-19 should be developed.

The “off-site and online”

Pushing through an “off-site and online” mode of learning will just further resurface the digital divide
evident in our educational sphere. Not everyone has a stable internet connection and it would be hard
or worse, impossible for some students to reach a signal. Institutions equipped to implement this
method, by providing gadgets and student allowances, would just increase institutional incompetence in
resolving the problems with internet access (not to mention the proper gadgets) of students across the
country, as it would leave students of most institutions behind due to incapacity to adopt such
measures. Cognitive skills may be enriched through online classes but it would only leave the class to be
teacher-centered while emotive and motor skills may be undermined, as there is no hands-on guidance,
physical experimentation, and practical activities.

The “off-site and offline”

In the alternative “off-site and offline” mode, learning materials and requirements can be delivered bot
by mail. But this set-up will possibly require families to find a means to procure money for courier fees.
This lack of empathy implies that our educational system is turning a blind eye to whom we should help
and what we should focus on — the front liners, the underprivileged, and flattening the curve. Instead of
saving a community for the "hope of the society," it just impairs our mental health. Rather than
prioritizing safety and security, it just reflects otherwise.

The “academic freeze”

It may not be the best solution, but an “academic freeze” can be adopted until the digital divide is fully
resolved or results of mass testing and curve-flattening are already evaluated empirically. An “academic
freeze” can also be adopted through a “no vaccine, no classes” policy wherein all academic calendars
and curricula need not to be adjusted, but will just have to suspend classes per academic year. If there is
no vaccine yet as of 2020, it may be possible to suspend the Academic Year 2020 to 2021 and resume
classes on the Academic Year 2021 to 2022 without adjusting the June to March and August to May
academic calendars.
Economically affected, agencies, companies and institutions, whether public or private, can
encourage graduating students to apply for a job during the “academic freeze” to uplift local businesses.
Furthermore, a possible loan with no interest agreement, public-private partnership, or government-
business coordination can incentivize school employees and contractual workers so they will still be
motivated in sustaining and improving their morale and productivity to provide quality education, post-
pandemic. “Academic freeze” will give the country time to have effective and efficient mass testing or
mass vaccination; not only in the hands of one, but for a collective and responsive system to push
through this pandemic. As far as there are underprivileged students who are victims of a distorted
system, an “academic freeze” is the most plausible option for students, teachers, and school
administrators. It allows them to collaborate in helping our front liners, assisting our local governments,
and in helping the country recover from an economic recession by conducting inclusive socio-economic
volunteer mobilization programs. No student should be left behind. Education is a right, but crisis
response speaks of valuing human lives. And Going to school and having face-to-face classes is the most
traditional type of learning. You can learn new things and at the same time, you can socialize and meet
friends and mentors that can teach you not only in academics but also real-life lessons that you can
apply in your daily life. But in this time of pandemic where our health is our main concern, face-to-face
classes are restricted. Online classes and modular type of learning are the solutions thought by the
government to address the problem of education brought by the pandemic. But is it really the solution
that can solve the problems in education in our country? Online classes and modular type of learning is
ok if you have the privilege of a good and stable internet connection and the gadgets needed. But not
everyone has it. This is a problem that many people deal with especially in our country. The 50 pesos
that can be used to buy food for daily consumption is used to buy load just to attend the class and
sometimes 50 pesos per day is not enough to supply the data needs of one student. Other problem rises
in this situation is the mental health of the students. Many students are getting stressed in answering
modules that sometimes they don’t understand, unlike in face to-face class they can easily ask their
teachers to explain what they do not understand in the topic. It also affects the free time of the students
that they normally used to relax. What’s alarming is there are some students that can’t take the stress
and they find solution by hurting themselves or what worst is by suiciding. In my opinion, academic
freeze is one of the solutions that the government can come up to not to stop the students from
learning but to prepare and think of a better way to provide a better and efficient solution in the
problem of education. And to upgrade the level of learning provided in schools. So that, every student in
the country has a better opportunity in learning and when the time comes, they can be competitive and
become ready when facing the challenges of the “real world”.