Name: Christian G. Soliman Gr&sec: 12- St.

Foillan

Teacher: Kier Anthony Boydon score:

SUMMARY
The National Center for Mental Health reported a spike in the number of suicide-
related calls received by its mental health crisis hotline – a manifestation of the
prevalence of mental health problems due to prolonged lockdown. The government
should provide all necessary resources to ensure students’ access to education such as
scholarships, stipends, gadgets, among others, especially for those poor and less
privileged students. The mental health of students should be highly considered by DepEd
and CHED in the pursuit of safe, accessible, and quality education amid the pandemic.
Thus, the recent pronouncement of CHED which dared the students to submit petitions on
academic freeze is outright insensitive and speaks well how detached this agency is to the
plight of the students.

National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) - Bicol demands pro-student

mode of learning amid the pandemic. This frequency of suicide cases related to online
classes must be enough for DepEd and CHED to heed the calls of students and teachers.
These students never choose to end their lives the government has failed them the rotten
Philippine educational system took their lives away. Never mind that several petitions
were already submitted to CHED yet responded since March, it is the obligation of the
government to know and to study the situation and problems of the students. The poor
and failed response of the government in the pandemic has taken its toll on Filipinos’
mental health. We also call for mass-oriented and effective mass testing, contact tracing,
isolation, and treatment to end COVID-19 transmission in the country.

EVALUATION
It appears that the author wishes to draw the attention of educational regulating bodies to
concerns regarding students' mental health and the documented case of deaths allegedly
caused by online learning. Despite the fact that I am a student, I cannot help but believe
that blaming the institutions, DepEd and CHED, as well as the entire government, is
unjustifiable. Although most of us are unfamiliar with online learning, it is the most
popular option because education continues to be important. As a result, the government
promotes and pushes online classes to adapt to the changes, which has become our
current structure. I grieve with those who have lost a family member due to the stress of
this new environment, but blaming the government entirely isn't going to help.