THE SAMAHAN ng Progresibong Kabataan took the cudgels for students of the Southville International School and Colleges who it claimed were suffering from repressive policies.

The group said that the Las Piñas-based school has implemented anti-student policies amid the pandemic.

“Its state-of-the-art facilities on-campus, complete with a bistro and a hotel suite for its hotel and restaurant management students, are mere facade that the repressive policies of the school administration hide behind,” it said.

The group shared that Southville students voiced their concern on the school’s policies, particularly its ‘lack of consideration’.

“Various anecdotes from students detail an online learning setup that leaves no consideration for the fact that students are merely people, and not machines,” it said.

SPARK added that teachers have been giving grades as low as 70, and forced students to find ‘decent internet connection’.

“That is only to speak of the experiences of students that have access to Southville’s online learning platforms. The school makes no considerations for those without decent Internet connection, arguing that they ‘find a way’ to participate regardless. Even those that do participate are instructed to have their camera on at all times, which can cause high levels of anxiety, and definitely increases the data consumption,” the group said.

Classes in Southville are held from Monday to Saturday and last for nine hours, SPARK said.

In August, the group conducted a students’ survey wherein Southville was ranked the fourth worst school because of its allegedly abusive administration, student repression, little to no financial aid for students and the use of student organizations as sources of labor for the institution.

The POST tried but failed to get the side of Southville International School and Colleges on the issue.