THE MILITANT youth group Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan  condemned the Commission on Higher Education’s alleged ‘malicious and tone-deaf warning’ about the ‘pass all policy’ of Higher Educational Institutions and dared the agency to allow at least 474 students to retain their scholarships.

“It is well within its power to be more lenient with scholarship requirements today, just as it was well within its power to implement a mass promotion policy for all higher educational institutions last semester,” the group said in a statement.

“If the scholarships of the 474 students are threatened, and if the CHED truly fulfilled its mandate in serving the interests of students, they would forego the GWA requirement from last semester and allow them to keep their scholarships. Instead, CHED Chairman Prospero De Vera III would rather pit scholars and non-scholars against each other, attempting to mislead students into thinking the culprits for their plight are fellow students rather than the agency itself,” it added.

The group noted that students will not forget how easily the agency dismissed students’ urgent demands for mass promotion last semester, forcing millions to finish the semester under an anti-poor and mentally draining online classes setup.

“As if it wasn’t bad enough that the mass promotion demand was totally ignored last semester, the CHED has the gall to further rub salt on the wound by asking 17 schools which implemented a “pass all’ policy to undo their policies and implement a numerical grading scheme for last semester,” the group said.

“Students will not be fooled by the CHED’s two-faced appeals towards school administrations. It is clear more than ever that the CHED cares more about grades and technicalities rather than remaining compassionate amid a pandemic and economic crisis while ensuring accessible and quality education for all,” it added.