Teachers warned against the dangers of school opening without ‘mass testing’
Published May 25, 2020, 5:14 PM
In order to avoid greater disaster, a federation of teachers on May 25, Monday, reiterated its call for “mass testing” which should include personnel and students before the upcoming school year formally opens.
“Until the government has not effectively curbed the continued rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, until mass testing has not been conducted for school personnel and students, until sufficient preventive measures has not been installed in schools, no formal school year should commence,” said the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines in a statement.
ACT underscored that the “ultimate basis” for the safe opening of the school year lies upon the government’s success in curbing the spread of COVID-19.
“The first step to do it is to conduct mass testing,” the group said.
“When the country has proven its ability to find, isolate, and treat every case, only then will the conditions be favorable to open the schools again,” it added.
Mass testing, the group insists, should be conducted among the school population to ensure that those infected will not be in contact with the uninfected ones.
Particularly, ACT said that mass testing for school opening should include personnel and students who have symptoms and have been exposed to the virus, have no symptoms but have been exposed to the virus, have COVID-19-like symptoms, even without known exposure, and those who belong to the vulnerable population such as the senior citizens, those with comorbidities, and having difficult pregnancies.
Why conduct mass testing before school opening?
ACT noted that while mass testing cannot treat COVID-19, it is the key step to find the virus that is invisible to the naked eye.
“This is the first step to be able to identify, isolate, and treat those who have been infected, and put the healthy population out of harm’s way,” the group stressed.
For the group, starting the school year without conducting mass testing is a “sure recipe for disaster” it could put the lives of teachers and learners at risk.
Earlier, the Department of Education (DepEd) has announced that the School Year (SY) 2020-2021 would formally open on August 24 while DepEd personnel, including teachers, will start rendering service starting June 1.
In both instances, DepEd repeatedly said that “no physical” reporting for teachers and “no face-to-face” classes for learners would be required.
ACT refuted DepEd’s claim especially on the side of teachers reporting back to work.
“Even before the June 1 official back-to-work schedule, many teachers in the provinces have been made to render service outside of their homes while no mass testing has been done,” the group said.
ACT said that while the DepEd insists that teachers have the option not to report physically for work, “the faulty plans and systems of the agency leaves the problems on teachers’ hands.”
For instance, DepEd will be conducting a survey during the enrollment period.
ACT asks how can these enrollment and survey forms be delivered to parents and learners “if they have no access to computers and internet?”
The group also pointed out how teachers can deliver their output through online platforms if they, themselves, “have no access to the same?”
ACT noted that these problems “oblige teachers to come to schools or go around communities, in helpless prayer that they do not contract the virus in the process.”
The group also pointed out that the Learning Continuity Plan (LCP) of DepEd directs the conduct of blended modes of learning – which may include face-to-face class sessions in areas with neither extreme nor general community quarantine classifications.
“With the current general thrust of the government to relax quarantine restrictions, it is likely that the modified general community quarantine imposed at present in many areas may be lifted by August,” ACT said.
“This is extremely worrisome as without mass testing, there can be not enough scientific basis to say that the COVID-19 threat in these areas is actually low,” it added.
ACT explained the circulating demand not to open the school year until a vaccine becomes available is “understandable” given the country’s situation.
“Such is an indication of the public’s great fear given the government’s failure to curb the spread of the disease,” the group said.
“Such lack of confidence makes sense when no less than the President of the country announces in defeat that the vaccine is our only remaining hope [and] the truth, however, is that there is no guarantee when the most-awaited vaccine will be developed, if at all,” it added.
Despite the months of quarantine, ACT lamented that the Philippines have yet to successfully flatten the curve. Given this, the group said that “our present situation makes it extremely dangerous to open the school year” on August 24 ordered by DepEd.
ACT noted how the pandemic has “exposed how vulnerable our education system is to health crises.”
With cramped classrooms, insufficient water supply and handwashing facilities and lack of functional school clinics manned by nurses and complete with equipment and supplies, the group maintained that public schools may not be ready for school opening amid the pandemic.
Aside from the conduct of mass testing, ACT maintained that a complete package of preventive measures must also be installed in schools to avoid outbreaks.
If school opening will push through, the group stressed the need to provide free facemasks and hygiene kits should be distributed to students and personnel and hiring of utility personnel to ensure regular disinfection of school premises, among others.
