Heavy traffic, not school days, should be reduced

MANILA, Philippines - Educators have expressed concern about a proposal to implement a four-day school week, saying this could affect the learning process of students.

Vincent Fabella, vice president of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Institutions (COCOPEA), said elementary and high school students would suffer the most if the proposal is adopted.

He noted that schools are required to hold 200 to 205 school days per year. Students, Fabella claimed, would miss about 25 percent of what they should have learned every year if the number of school days is reduced.

“One of the goals of the school is always to finish that (curriculum) by the end of the year. They have to learn a certain amount of stuff by the end of the year,” Fabella said.

The four-day work week, Fabella said, would shorten the school year by about a quarter or about 40 days.

Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) executive director Rhodora Angela Ferrer said the proposal would compromise the interaction time of teachers and students.

She said the teaching- learning process is something that should be defined by what the school believes in.

“If there’s anyone who has to do some readjusting, it’s probably on how they (government) are going to implement that road project construction,” Ferrer said.

Effective?

Last month, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) proposed a four-day school week as traffic jams are expected to worsen this year because of government construction projects.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino claimed that the scheme, which has been adopted by several countries, has been effective in cutting traffic and energy costs.

“The solution is not perfect and has room for adjustment to fit in the Philippine school system. However, it is also undoubtedly a scheme that will redound to the benefit of the general public and help improve the traffic situation in Metro Manila,” he said in a letter sent to Education Secretary Armin Luistro.

“With only four days in school, students and teachers have more time to spend with their families and loved ones.”

The Education department has formed a team that would look into the recommendation.

‘Don’t look at us’

Educators, however, believe learning and the quality of education should not be sacrificed because of traffic woes

“You never dictate a school on how it should do instructions using as justification road projects. It would just worsen our world rankings,” Ferrer said.

She said the MMDA proposal came to them as a surprise.

“It took us by surprise… We are not consulted about that,” Ferrer said.

COCOPEA executive director Joseph Noel Estrada said learning opportunities should not be missed to accommodate efforts to ease the traffic.

He noted that educational institutions are not public utilities that the government can simply shut down whenever it pleases.

“We can think of other ways where school can help in solving traffic… Maybe, we can help in doing researches on how to improve the traffic in the area, how we can ease traffic in Metro Manila,” Estrada said.

Centro Escolar University president Ma. Cristina Padolina said the MMDA should review existing traffic rules instead of reducing the number of school days.

“Implement traffic rules. That would be a big help right now,” Padolina said, adding that the four-day school week should be the last resort.

COCOPEA president Patricia Lagunda said the MMDA should effectively disseminate its traffic rerouting.

For his part, Antonio Abad, chief legal adviser of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PASCU), said the government should phase out old vehicles.

“Because of the narrowness of roads and the number of vehicles increasing every year, we should phase out old vehicles  10, 15 and 20 years old. Public vehicles like jeeps and buses must also obey traffic rules,” Abad said.

“Look for other ways to reduce traffic rather than close schools. We are not the one causing the traffic.”

Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) president Narciso Erguiza Jr. described the MMDA proposal as “a wrong response to the problem.”

Erguiza said the Public Works department should come up with measures to address the traffic woes without reducing school days.

“They (government) should be more proactive in the way they respond to problems,” he said.

Teachers, students weigh in

If the Education department adopts the MMDA recommendation, public schools will have no choice but to comply with it.

A public high school teacher, however, said the scheme would force educators and students to make difficult adjustments.

“In five days, the student’s comprehension skills have the tendency to decline. How much more if they (government) lessen the days (of schooling)?” the teacher said.

“Why not reduce the volume of cars? Don’t meddle with education.”

A high school student teacher from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines said the MMDA proposal would give teachers a tough time.

“The quality of education will be worse especially now that we are still not used to K- 12,” he said.

Jaaras Galicia, an information technology student at the Quezon City Polytechnic University, said he is not in favor of the ‘open university’ suggested by Tolentino.

Aside from the four-day school week, the MMDA also suggested an ‘open university’ that would allow college students to study at the comfort of their homes to reduce traffic congestion.

“If it (teaching) is done online and you’re just at home, the students could not focus on the lesson,” Galicia said.

Angeline Mendoza, a grade 8 student at the San Francisco High School, said the four-day school week would impact on schools that had suspended classes because of recent typhoons.

She said the recommendation would aggravate the problems of students who could no longer absorb the lessons discussed to them

Another grade 8 student, Cedrick Plaza, believes MMDA should be tough on drivers who violate the traffic rules.

Ramon Cañeda, a parent, said the four-day school week would not provide enough time for students to learn their lessons.

Anniemae Cherry Amio, a grade 7 student, said schools should not be blamed for the slow traffic.

“Most of the students are just walking when going to school to save money,” Amio said.