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The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA), alongside the Face to Face (F2F) Ad Hoc Committee, has revised the policies for the reopening of classes, and is now submitted to the Office of the Chancellor (OC) for approval, the University Student Council (USC) reports. 

Last November 19, Friday, the USC submitted a letter to the OVCAA and the F2F Ad Hoc Committee urging for the immediate release of the limited F2F guidelines and policies. These guidelines adhered to the concerns raised during the consultation in October. 

“Publishing this in the earliest time possible would help inform the community about the protocols to be put in place whenever limited face to face classes start and conduct necessary preparations on their part,” stated the USC in their letter. 

Sentiments were raised, however, regarding the OVCAA’s lack of “thorough review” and consultation with the studentry regarding the limited F2F classes guidelines. 

USC Chairperson Jonas Abadilla laments it is crucial that as the “biggest stakeholders of the university,” the students must be made aware of the “consulted existing policies” up for approval. Abadilla also demands that dialogues be held before implementation of the said policy in the university. 

At the local level, the CSSP Student Council, alongside Rise for Education – UP Diliman and the League of College Councils, released a student readiness sensing form to assess the current conditions of the student body to help in crafting “policies that would be beneficial for their safety and welfare.” 

The said form may be answered here: http://bit.ly/LBESensing. The deadline for responses is on November 27.

Moreover, the local chaper of League of Filipino Students (LFS-CSSP) is calling for volunteers to participate in the making  of a Roadmap for the conduct of the safe return to Face to Face Classes. 

They further said that this initiative will aid in further clamoring the calls of the CSSP community for #LigtasNaBalikEskwela. 

The proposed roadmap will lay out policy suggestions and demands crafted by the students for the safe and effective conduct of community immersion, on-ground fieldwork, archive work, and laboratory classes as limited F2F classes are gradually being permitted in the country.

LFS-CSSP urges their fellow students to participate in the making of the Roadmap, inclusive of scientific and mass-oriented F2F guidelines and protocols. 

“Isang itong mahalagang hakbang para makalampag natin ang administrasyon ng pamantasan, ang CHED, at ang mismong estado na dinggin ang ating panawagan para sa #LiigtasNaBalikEskwela,” LFS-CSSP said in their Facebook post. 

Those who wish to participate may fill-up the form here: https://tinyurl.com/KAPPRoadmap.

Now on their third remote semester since the pandemic began, students are clamoring for the immediate but safe resumption of classes in the last country in the world to open its schools.

Featured image courtesy of Rappler