MANILA: Malacanang has supported the Philippines' Commission on Higher Education's (CHED) move to reject calls for a nationwide or Luzon-wide academic freeze, following the series of typhoons that hit the nation in the past weeks.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that while the commission rejected such a measure, it has given colleges and universities an extension of at least
a week or two for the required academic period, according to Philstar.com.
"There will only be an extension, but no academic breaks for those affected by the disasters," he said.
Earlier in an interview with CNN Philippines, CHED chairman J. Prospero de Vera III had reasoned that the impact of the typhoon and the disasters differ between parts of the country.
"A unilateral suspension is not a good policy. We cannot make unilateral decisions that are not based on what is actually happening on the ground," he stressed.
"No also to the Luzon-wide (suspension) because the universities are already deciding on it," he added.
According to him, local government units and school authorities are in a better position to decide on the calls for an academic break, where its impact should be discussed with students and faculty.
"The decision on the academic calendar is a decision by individual universities in the exercise of academic freedom.
"(But) they have to discuss with the students what the impact of reducing the semester is.
"Because if you reduce it, the potential workload of the students and the faculty will be heavy," he added.
De Vera said universities could take a short academic break and wait for things to normalise, urging those that made such decisions to consider extending the current semester.
"You can end the semester in January. Adjust the (start of the) second semester in February.
"It is possible that you can give up the summer break or the break between school years, or reduce it so that you have more time for the regular semesters," he added.
Meanwhile, some higher education institutions, including the University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo De Manila University and the De La Salle University, have declared academic breaks until Saturday.
The Polytechnic University of the Philippines, on the other hand, suspended all synchronous and asynchronous activities until Nov 27.
In Marikina, Mayor Marcy Teodoro suspended classes in all levels for a month until Dec 15.
De Vera said school officials in Marikina must discuss the possibility of extending the semester due to the month-long suspension.
Meanwhile, the Education Department, which earlier authorised regional officials to suspend classes in areas affected by disasters, said the schools division office of Marikina had been discussing ways to ensure that the students in elementary and high school could catch up once classes resume.
