A YOUTH group blamed the Duterte administration for the suicide of a student in Iriga City who took her own life because of the stress brought by online classes.

The College Editors Guild of the Philippines said that the suicide of the 21-year-old female student was a result of government ‘negligence’ in addressing mental health issues in connection with online classes.

“CHED, DepEd, and the Duterte administration should have the compassion to take into consideration, not only the mental health of the students but more importantly, the general accessibility of our entire learning framework,” the group said in a Facebook post, referring to the Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Education.

The CEGP said that only those who can afford online classes will have a quality education.

“The glaring elitism our digital learning offers, all the while enduring the burden of the pandemic, to the masses is what makes the number of suicide cases skyrocket. It is evident that digital learning only caters to those who can afford it, spitting on the needs of those who can’t,” it said.

The group lamented that the pandemic exposed “the unresponsiveness of the Duterte government to the general public.”

It extended its condolences to the family of the student who died even as it called for safe, quality and accessible education for everyone.