Gwen urges DepEd, schools to cancel online classes

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia |CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has urged the Department of Education (DepEd) and schools and universities in the province to cancel online classes if it meant keeping students inside their homes.

Garcia made this pronouncement in a press conference on Saturday, March 22, 2020, after the Capitol called another multi-sectoral meeting on the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation.

The Capitol is now implementing a ’24-hour curfew’ for students in all levels and senior citizens, who are 65 years old and above, are encouraged to stay at home as another preventive measure against COVID-19.

“We have put in place the 24-hour curfew so that all students will not be going out of their homes. This is also why we’re ordering internet shops to suspend their operations,” said Garcia in Cebuano.

“With that, I am urging the DepEd to suspend online classes. Let’s worry about this later on because it’s the least of our concerns right now,” she added.

Garcia also called for schools, colleges, and universities to halt online classes, adding that some students are not privileged enough to have WiFi access, and might prompt them to seek areas outside their houses.

“I’m also directing all schools to immediately stop all online classes. In the province, not everyone has access to a stable internet connection, and this could just be the reason why they want to go out,” she said in Cebuano.

Actual classes both in Cebu province and in the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue have been suspended indefinitely amid threats of COVID-19.

Cebu City

While Garcia wants schools and universities to stop doing online classes, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella appealed to school administrators to find ways on ensuring that students will not be going out of their houses to attend simulated classes on the internet.

“I am not issuing an order to suspend classes online. It should continue. But what I am suspending is the operations of internet cafes,” Labella told reporters on Sunday, March 22, 2020.

“But I am appealing to school administrators to see to it that they can find ways on making sure the students can still attend to online classes without leaving their houses,” he added./dbs