Senator Win Gatchalian on Thursday urged the government to ensure that learners and teachers are given psychosocial and mental health support while educators scramble to carry out logistical challenges and many learners experience feelings of anxiety as they await classes to begin amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gatchalian’s ‘Education in the Better Normal’ bill seeks to formally include psychosocial and mental health support in safe school re-opening.
According to Gatchalian, when a state of calamity was declared last March due to COVID-19, the education sector saw an unprecedented suspension of classes in all levels. The opening of classes in the basic education sector was eventually moved to August 24, and finally to October 5.
The senator said the disruption to schooling does not only result in learning losses.
He added that the shift to blended learning already caused stress to learners and their families, citing recent proposals to extend 6 hours to 7-8 hours of online classes, which he said will strain both the eyes and the minds of learners.