EDITORIAL - Academic health break

Just when the country was preparing to expand the resumption of limited face-to-face education, a fresh wave of COVID infections has forced the suspension of classes. As COVID cases surged in the past two weeks, educators asked for a timeout, for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The “academic health break” is a reminder that teachers are also frontliners in this pandemic, and face health risks as in-person classes gradually resume.

Both teachers and students want face-to-face classes to resume as soon as possible, even if vaccination of minors is just starting. But with the National Capital Region and neighboring areas seeing a fresh COVID wave believed fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the second phase of the resumption of in-person classes can push through as scheduled on Jan. 31 only in areas with lower alert levels.

Meanwhile, 126 higher education institutions have implemented the health break for a few days to a week. The HEIs are mostly in the NCR, Calabarzon and other areas under Alert Level 3. Education officials expect more HEIs to follow suit and others to extend the break until the end of the month.

The Department of Education suspended classes in public schools in the NCR beginning yesterday until Jan. 22 amid the COVID surge, saying this was for the physical and mental well being of both teachers and learners. Private schools have the discretion to follow suit, in consultation with parent-teacher associations.

Students will have to make up for the class suspensions through blended learning during the school mid-year break scheduled from Jan. 31 to February. Education officials have said there will be no further disruptions in an already dramatically disrupted school calendar.

The pandemic has forced about two million students to stay out of school. That’s a large number of youths who must not be permanently left behind in their formal education. Quarantines and distance learning for nearly two years now have also taken a toll on the mental health of educators and learners alike. All these problems will have to be addressed as the country struggles to normalize education.