USC to propose ‘Mental Healthcare Period’ to admin

ANDREA CRISOLOGO

A month after the opening of the classes, the Philippine Normal University student Council (PNU-UsC) will push its proposal for a week-long

break from synchronous and asynchronous sessions, for both the students and professors, to the PNU administration.

After conducting an ‘Online Kumustahan and Consultation’ last October 24, the students’ feedback to the implementation of Kaway-Aralan sa Bagong Kadawyan prompted the council to push for the mental health care period.

“We indeed have more flexible time at the comfort of our homes, but we all know that we vary with conduciveness of learning environment and this is just one among many factors to consider achieving success in remote learning, and that alone causes immense stress,” USC Chairperson Alfredo Magat explained.

At least 7 universities nationwide have already conducted their academic breaks like Mapua University. Meanwhile, 8 other universities announced their upcoming break including University of the Philippine’s midsemester break and Isabela State University’s semester reflection break.

According to the Chairperson, if the admin approves the proposal, the suggested dates of the break are (a) October 29 - November 2 (Thursday - Monday), (b) November 3 - November 8 (Tuesday - Sunday), (c) October 30 - November 6 (Friday - Friday). Currently, the council is conducting an online survey before the PNU community regarding the preferred schedule.

There are a lot of factors that make online learning a struggle for the students. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers – Education Students (ACT-ES) Chairperson Mhargie Bundalian shared that her noisy learning environment causes difficulty for her to focus on academic tasks.

“Ang pangunahing problema ay ang ingay ng paligid, mahirap mag-focus kaya’t mas pinipili na magpuyat para matapos dahil hindi naman hihinto ang mga pasahan at gawain, ang mahinang internet connection at kung minsan nagkaaroon ng biglaang brown out dahil sa malakas na ulan,’’ Bundalian explained.

PNU Psychology and Counseling Society President Christopher Gascon said that the challenge for him is in communicating with his classmates as some of them have connectivity issues and limited access to internet data. He also mentioned a situation when the internet providers are down for several hours.

Gascon expressed approval for the mental healthcare period proposal while Bundalian said she understands USC’s aim for the welfare of the students amid given ‘’limited information.”

‘’Many of our students and faculty [members] experience stress due to academic work and also the adjustments they have to make because of this “bagong kadawyan” and its system. Having this mental health break will help the students and faculty because we should understand that coping up with circumstances will take time,’’ Gascon explained.

Moreover, Bundalian cited a possible downside of this proposal and said, ‘’Hindi natin maaring isantabi ang mga maaring maging epekto nito gaya ng backlog o pag-urong ng pang-akademikong kalendaryo na maaring magdulot ng stress sa mga estudyante pagkatapos ng nasabing break dahil sa tambak na gawain o pagkagahol sa oras.’’

Magat said that they have considered the students’ deadlines in setting the date. “But of course, we have put great consideration with the set dates for this academic year, including our deadlines for academic requirements,” he explained.

The need for breaks amidst adjusting to online classes is a manifestation of the modalities’ unhealthiness. Although it may be of help, but it is of no denial that this offers temporary escape. Aside from temporary solutions, there is a greater need to demand the state to address the education system's root problems and provide adequate support, especially in times of crisis, ACTES said in a statement.

In a Facebook post, the University of the Philippines Student Regent said, ‘’ This will be an ease, even just for a short period, for the constituency to breathe from the burnout massively experienced by so many due to the remote learning set-up.’’

“The shift to remote learning and the lack of ample state support for such has more than doubled the workload—not to mention the expenses—of already overworked public school teachers. This will likely result in a further decline in education quality and burn out among our educators,” Alliance of Concered Teachers (ACT) Secretary-General Raymond Basilio said.

With this, the ACT upholds its call for a ‘safe, accessible, and quality education’ for the welfare of millions the students, teachers, education stakeholders around the country.