##DoBetterUP #Signature #Campaign
DO BETTER UP!
Institutionalize Academic Ease Policies! Expand Support Services For All! Implement Full Capacity for F2F Classes!
With only one week before the start of classes, the recent announcement on academic policies has left the whole UP Community distraught. The UP Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs (OVPAA) released OVPAA Memo 2022-27, which lifts the suspension of the academic policies that were implemented due to the pandemic. This proclamation includes the termination of the No Fail Policy, 12-unit minimum load, removal of stringent deadlines, and suspension of Scholastic Delinquency and Maximum Residence Rule.
The fast-paced shift to other modes of learning put down obstacles for many students with the complications on dorm applications, transportation, and financial assistance. Our struggles, as we prepare for the return to F2F classes, attest that there is a need to immediately craft consultative, clear, and comprehensive plans for students, professors, and staff. While our call for Ligtas Na Balik Eskwela remains uncompromising, this is not what we had envisioned.
Moreover, students, alongside other sectors, have yet to break free from the challenges brought by the lockdown. The existing problems in the UP System — difficulty in procuring class slots, stringent deadlines, and academic policies, among others — were only further aggravated by the pandemic. Even outside of our university, budget cuts and insufficient support for SUCs plague students nationwide. Instead of providing adequate support and assistance to students, the Marcos-Duterte alliance and their cronies have persistently disregarded the long-standing problems of the education sector, weaponizing the state to release blatant attacks and militarize our institutions.
With all these issues present as the new academic year approaches, we must work collectively to address such difficulties that hinder our right to quality education. The current situation of the UP Community is no better than the sudden adjustments in the first months of the pandemic. Hence, we call on the UP Administration to heed the demands of every Iskolar ng Bayan:
Institutionalize Academic Ease Policies;
Expand Support Services For All;
Implement Full Capacity for F2F Classes; and
Stand with the UP Community!
The call to enjoin the whole UP Community in returning to face-to-face classes while ensuring that no one is left behind is the result of our collective and principled efforts born out of the various struggles experienced by all of the sectors. The desolate condition of the students at this time proves that maximum efforts are highly needed to ensure the welfare of the UP Diliman community. Grit and resilience can only do so much if the students do not have the capacity to continue under these circumstances. Upholding honor and excellence can never be attained if there are students being left behind.
Under the Marcos-Duterte administration that neglects the welfare and needs of the education sector and the whole nation, only through the collective efforts of the masses can we secure our utmost rights and welfare. We must continue to militantly fight for safe, accessible, and quality education.
With this, we enjoin the UP Community to unite under one call: Do Better, UP!
Join the signature campaign here: bit.ly/SignDoBetterUP
JOIN THE MOBILIZATION ON AUGUST 30! 10AM I QUEZON HALL
#DoBetterUP
#AcadEaseNow
#NoStudentLeftBehind
#LigtasNaBalikEskwela
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