YOUTH groups on Monday welcomed the approval of pilot limited face-to-face classes and reiterated their call for more support to the education sector.

“As students around the country continue to air out their grievances on the remote learning setup, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines welcomes this decision yet remains firm in the call to heed the students’ demand for sufficient aid and health-based solutions,” CEGP said in a statement.

The group lament that the Philippines “is far behind among other countries in handling this pandemic.”

“Thus, we reiterate our call for the safe resumption of physical classes and sufficient aid,” it said.

Meanwhile, the National Union Students of the Philippines urged the public “to scrutinize the state’s preparations leading up to the pilot classes.”

It sought the release of the “readiness assessment” utilized in selecting which schools were qualified to conduct physical classes.

The group urged the government to ensure the safe resumption of classes by implementing aggressive contact tracing, efficient mass testing, free and rapid vaccine rollout and assistance to school personnel.