THE NATIONAL Union of Students of the Philippines urged student organizations to join the move to defend academic freedom and democratic rights.

The group said that students must unite against attacks on academic freedom and pressure the government to ramp up its Covid19 efforts to resume face-to-face classes, instead of vilifying critical student groups.

“We are calling on our fellow Filipino youth and students to stand against campus militarization and instead, stand for the gradual resumption of safe and quality education,” the NUSP said in a statement.

“We do not need military troops in our campuses, we need health facilities, additional classrooms, hazard pay for staff and teachers, among others, to ensure the relative accessibility of education amid the pandemic. Moreover, let us fight for our democratic rights and academic freedom!” it added.

The group also urged the government to re-channel funds for the anti-insurgency drive to healthcare and livelihood.

Organizations can show their support to the NUSP’s call can drop their logos as a sign of unity at https://drive.google.com/folderview…

The initial batch of signatories will be posted on February 2, 2021.