“No vaccine, no classes’ policy cooked sans analysis and study

First word

IT’S pe r - plexing why president Duterte was in such a hurry to announce his “no vaccine, no classes” policy decision with respect to the opening of the new schoolyear.

The presidential decision was not reached following lengthy briefs and policy discussions by health and education officials, or following con- sultations with members of the Congress. He apparently reached it all by himself, while cogitating at the Palace.

Now, with the cat out of the bag, the decision will be subjected to extensive analysis and criticism by key stakeholders in the country’s education system, which include, besides the millions of students, parents, teachers, education officials, business and civil society organizations, who will suddenly feel robbed of their school calendar.

Vaccine first

More than 25 million primary and secondary students are set to return to school this August, after being sent home in March following the coronavirus outbreak in the country

In a TV address aired late Monday, Duterte said the risk was too great, even if it would hold back students academically.

He explained: “Unless I am sure that they are really safe it’s useless to be talking about the opening of classes.”

“For me, vaccine first. If the vaccine is already there, then it’s okay. If no one graduates, then so be it.”

Though researchers have launched an unprecedented global effort to quickly develop a vaccine, it is not clear when a viable candidate will be proven and distributed on a large scale.

In order to ease classroom crowding, the Education department has already announced that a mix of distance- learning measures, including online classes, would be used in the coming school year.

This is highly speculative. Millions live in deep poverty in the Philippines and do not have access to computers at home, which would be key for the viability of online classes.

The pandemic has kept children around the globe home for months, but in-person classes have begun to resume in several countries, including South Korea and France.

Within hours after the President issued the statement, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. tried to clarify what Duterte had said.

Roque said there would be no face-to-face classes to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“The bottom line is: we will not compromise the health of our youth,” he said.

The DepEd had earlier announced that school year 2020- 2021 would open, physically or virtually, on August 24.

Mixed reactions

The President’s statement drew mixed reactions from education stakeholders, as reported in on Wednesday, May 27.

The Coordinating Council of Private Educational Association ( Cocopea) said suspending school opening indefinitely would lead to a crisis.

“[ T] here will be a brain drain,” Cocopea Managing Director Joseph Noel Estrada warned, explaining that teachers and faculty will look for other jobs elsewhere.

“In the long run, this affects this generation’s own ability to take care of themselves and for some, the economic woes of their parents are passed on to them,” he added.

The Federation of Associations of Private School Administrators ( Fapsa) echoed Cocopea’s sentiments.

“We cannot wait for the vaccine for it may never come,” Fapsa President Eleazardo Kasilag said.

“Our government leaders should understand that our pupils might get used to vacation and lose interest in anything academic,” he added.

Meantime, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers ( ACT) of the Philippines and Teachers’ Dignity Coalition ( TDC) Philippines said this would be an opportune time to prepare for better educational facilities and resources.

ACT urged the government to use the time to build safe schools, fill in education shortages and bridge learning gaps.

“Instead of idly and indefinitely waiting for a vaccine, the government shall make productive use of its time and the people’s resources on increasing the resiliency of our education system by building safe schools, addressing perennial shortages in personnel, facilities, equipment and learning resources, and filling in gaps in learning,” ACT Philippines SecretaryGeneral Raymond Basilio said.

The TDC welcomed Duterte’s pronouncement, saying DepEd would have more time to prepare for the “new normal.”

“There will also be more time to train our teachers’ technical capacity and other skills to cope with ‘ new normal’,” said TDC National Chairman Benjo Basas.

Should the government move the school opening beyond August, Basas urged Congress to start the process of amending the law that mandates class opening.

Republic Act 7797, or the “Act on Lengthening of School Calendar,” states that the “school year shall start on the first Monday of June but not later than the last day of August.”

Estrada appealed to Duterte to allow education experts from the public and private sectors to continue to find ways to work on modes to deliver education

“Health remains to be a top priority, but isn’t it why we are all working on delivering education through other modes other than face- to- face [ learning]?” he said.

“Education is an essential activity, and a critically affected sector. It needs to continue. If we even talk about opening back of malls and salons and barbershops, why can’t we do the same for education?” he added.

Policy outputs and policy impacts

Policy statements are not the whole of policymaking. If they were, policy analysis would be easy. But policy decisions must be implemented, which means that steps must be taken to put the policy into practice in order to achieve the policy goals.

Policy implementation includes outputs and impacts.

Policy outputs are the tangible manifestations of policies, the observable and measurable results of policy adoption and implementation. Outputs are what governments in fact do in a particular policy area.

Policy impacts ( sometimes called outcomes) are the effects of policy on society. They are the policy’s consequences in terms of the policy’s stated goals and society’s fundamental beliefs.

Act of paternalism

The no vaccine, no classes policy, in light of the pandemic, will be chiefly depicted in the media as a paternalistic act by the president, to protect millions of Filipino children from the Covid- 19.

Paternalism is the exercise of authority over persons for their own good. To act paternalistically, as the philosopher Sissela Bok has written, “is to guide and even coerce people in order to protect them and serve their best interest as a father might his children.”

The problem with the cancellation of schooling is that it can also be viewed differently.

Keeping schools and universities closed will be incalculably detrimental to children, teenagers and young adults for decades to come.