City officials urged the different higher education institutions operating in the city to institutionalize in their respective academic calendars an academic break for their students and teachers.
Under Resolution No. 620, series of 2021, city legislators stated that granting an academic break and even institutionalizing this in the academic calendars of higher education institutions after due consideration from school administrations serves as one of many health mechanisms that must respond to the needs of the students and teachers.
Further, the body explained that as a community, concerned education stakeholders must put an end to the rising number of youth and students who succumb to depression, among other related mental issues.
More importantly, the council pointed out that the stakeholders must stand with the students in the call for genuine compassion among the concerned stakeholders.
The council recognized the need to set safety precautions and observe distance learning to protect the students and teachers from the dreaded Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) which caused the implementation of numerous lockdowns over the past 22 months resulting to a significant increase in mental health issues not only among adults but also among the youth and students.
According to the council, it is also a must that concerned government agencies and the city government ensure continuous learning and academic engagement between the teachers and the students but as people grapple with the pandemic, there is a need for everyone to consider the needs of the students, forge a strong collaboration between the student body and the school or university administration to help in promoting the welfare of the students.
The council admitted that the recent developments over the past 22 months because of the impact of the deadly virus have been detrimental to the health of students, especially their mental health that resulted in the significant increase in mental health issues among them.
Moreover, the surge in cases triggered by the Delta variant and the emerging threat posed by the more infectious and more transmissible Omicron variant in the city again poses a serious threat to the health and safety of the residents, thus, the need for concerned stakeholders to start working on their compliance to the minimum health standards to contain the rapid spread of the virus.
The council stipulated that stringent government protocols had been enforced for nearly 2 years now that restricted the movement of people, including the students and teachers, but there is a need for them to have a break or a place to breath amidst the global health crisis so as not to put a toll on their overall health and wellbeing.
The dilemma of the students and teachers alike was aggravated by the Tropical Storm Maring on October 20, 2021 where they were pressured to pursue academic workloads even though many of them were still coping with the challenges brought by the weather disturbance and that the said particular event was the primary reason for the students regionwide to call for educational or academic break within their respective institutions that emphasizes the necessity to provide the much needed break for them.
