Long Standing Problems in CAS Highlighted as Classes Return to F2F

Chelsy Claire Perez and Bienne Marguarette Chan Lugay

The UP Manila College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) opened its doors for a face-to-face set-up for most classes this second semester, a first since the pandemic forced academic institutions into precarious lockdown last March 2020.

But while CAS constituents’ return to the classroom may create an air of normalcy—systemic issues of lacking student space and genuine, democratic representation plague the atmosphere.

Attempts to bring back normal tertiary education begun in full swing across the country last 2022, and UP was quick to follow suit; the Manila constituent unit, in particular, piloted the initial run of F2F classes during the midyear.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) then allowed flexible learning for the first semester of the current school year, permitting higher education institutions to adopt policies in transitioning back to a face-toface orientation. Yet with such ample time, CAS—in the eyes of many students— had failed to ready for the F2F rollout despite being UPM’s largest college populace of 1,900.

From the get-go, planning lacked ample consultation from learner constituents.

The CAS Student Council has stated on multiple occasions the fact that they had to request to be included in meetings of the F2F Planning Committee, even if the council acts as the student body’s elected representatives. Chairperson Namit bore that the single consultation that did occur only lasted for an hour due to CAS Dean Carillo insisting on a “life-and-work balance.”

Renovations to Rizal Hall and Gusaling Andres Bonifacio (GAB) remained incomplete by the time of February 2023 (and continue to be as of March) due to an insufficient budget. Concerns raised on lacking facilities, classrooms, and even human resources manifested themselves in the first day of on-site enlistment for the second semester. Images of long lines and delays in processing the enrollment of freshmen and senior students lasted from the morning until well into the night.

And although the enlistment process grew more efficient as the days progressed, the first day’s incident is clearly emblematic of much larger issues within the college. Deficient spaces for students and organizations are undoubtedly felt the strongest.

Endless renovations have only shrunk what little space is left for a population of 1,900. The CAS SC along with other orgs have strongly criticized this in the form of the ‘We Need Space’ campaign, arguing that the current state of things hampers students’ abilities to engage in democratic and creative activities with their peers.

Lacking facilities and classrooms has also led CAS to borrowing rooms from other colleges to house all classes offered for the semester. As a result, many students are forced to travel to and from Pedro Gil and Padre Faura to keep up with all their schedules, adding to exhaustion throughout the day. Even a library—a hallmark of student space— is absent in CAS, caught up in the upper floor renovations of Rizal Hall.

Construction in CAS has existed since pre-pandemic times; indeed, issues of resource and facility shortages have only resurfaced now with the return of face-to-face modalities. On top of problems with F2F implementation, the average student must also grapple with a worsening economy and a floundering public transport system. The additional, sudden removal of academic ease policies despite all still struggling under a health crisis only furthers the strain and toil.

The demand for student spaces both in the academic and extra-curricular sense, amidst such problems, should at the very least be acknowledged. And for that to occur, the student body must be fairly and accurately represented at the administrative level.

The return of face-to-face classes, while a welcome notion that we are transitioning away from the days of lockdown into a sense of normalcy, has compounded student problems through an implementation that is lacking in dialogue with its constituents. The students shout their need for space, yet it only seems to be falling on deaf ears.