A STUDENT group at the University of the Philippines Los Baños asked school officials to postpone the opening of classes for Academic Year 2021-2022.

The University Student Council said that problems encountered by students and faculty in the implementation of distance learning remain unresolved.

“We, the UPLB University Student Council, strongly reiterate our call for the postponement of classes. With our current state, it is only a must to reconsider the opening of classes on September 13 until the UP administration has addressed the students’ and faculties’ demands for a better learning set-up,” the group said in a statement.

Citing data from the UPLB Committee on Scholarships and Financial Assistance, it said that out of 829 learners who applied for the Student Assistance System, only 507 received gadget and internet assistance.

The group said this is enough reason to postpone the opening of classes.

It also urged the UP administration to release an assessment of the previous academic year and craft consistent guidelines for remote learning.

“For a year of online learning, there had been no assessments made by the UP administration. This is the root cause of why it is hard for the faculties-in-charge to recalibrate the requirements and for the students to keep up with the academic load,” it said.

“We are going to venture into a new academic year without the assurance of having an inclusive education, not to mention the lack of consistent guidelines as long as we are in this set-up,” it added.