The Boons and Banes of Academic Freeze in Time of Pandemic

The COVID 19 virus has spread rapidly all over the world and currently, it is still
mutating and surviving. This greatly affects the living of the people. Many lost their job, do not
even know where they will get the money to buy their primary necessities, businesses shut down
their stores, our country’s economy goes down because of many factors, and the classes also
began to suspend on March 9, 2020.

The Department of Education has decided to implement the Blended and Distance
Learning for students, which means that the students must continue to study through the online
platforms or by using the modules provided by DepEd. It has been more than two years, but
everyone is still stuck in this pandemic. The students continued to attend virtual classes for
months. But upon realizing that virtual classes aren’t as effective as the traditional classes, many
students’ and teachers’ groups shouted for academic freeze. Despite the request of the students
and teachers, the Department of Education, rejects this call. The DepEd Secretary Leonor
Briones expressed optimism and stated that the education must continue even in times of crisis.
The term Academic freeze became known due to the pandemic, it is a suspension or cancellation
of the school year and every school activity across all levels.

If the academic freeze were implemented for the past school years, the country will be
given enough time to conduct an effective mass testing and mass vaccination, a way to a
responsive system in this pandemic. In our country, the students who are not privileged enough
which are enrolled mostly in publics schools are severely affected. “No students should be left
behind”, this is a trending hashtag in social media up until today. Education is important but the
response to crisis is much more essential because it speaks about the fighting for the lives of the
mankind. As we all know, the DepEd are pushing through the virtual learning, which is not a
favorable option for the less privileged students. It is believed to be an anti-poor learning because
students will be needing to have gadgets and internet connection for online schooling. Academic
freeze can be also a way to preserve the mental health of Filipino students and faculty members
as it would be a time to prioritize their personal concerns such as their daily needs.

On the other hand, the Department of Education refused to accept the proposal of having
an Academic Freeze because it would have a massive effect on the lives of the students
economically. There would be a large possibility that more schools and businesses will shut
down. There would be no students that will come to school when the Academic Freeze happen,
this could lead to the drastic losses in the income of private schools. The students might lose
their track academically, or in the momentum of learning. This may affect the students’
motivation to study. There would also be a delay in the graduation of students which will cause a
dramatic impact on the employment rates and delay in opportunities.

To conclude, Academic Freeze is something that must be decided in a critical way as

many factors would be affected and long-term results will apply. The Department of Education
is considering the welfare of everyone, and students must understand that the decision made by
the department is to protect the future of the country.
References:
https://mb.com.ph/2020/09/17/academic-freeze-pushed-rejected/

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/serbisyopubliko/walangpasok/728708/class-cancellations-
for-monday-march-9-2020/story/

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2020/6/1/academic-freeze-opinion.html?fbclid

https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/18/deped-fears-massive-impact-of-academic-freeze-on-students/