THE SAMAHAN ng Progresibong Kabataan slammed the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations for its inclusive and money-oriented outlook at the country’s educational system following its pronouncement against the proposed ‘academic freeze’.

“Of the many things the Covid19 pandemic has exposed, the state of the education system is perhaps the most rotten of the lot. While government neglect has played no small part, the system as a whole is held hostage by private interests turning education into a commodity and not a right,” SPARK said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

“What makes it all the more annoying is how vocal these interests are in their desire to make even more money.”

The organization was reacting to COCOPEA Managing Director Joseph Estrada’s interview over CNN Philippines in which he noted that students have already ‘lost almost one year of learning’ and the proposal to implement an ‘academic freeze’ should not be for everyone.’

The youth group noted Estrada looked like a man holding a neon sign asking for money during the interview, and added the director’s words looked like they were ‘pulled out of thin air’ after claiming that only 70 percent of students’ learning were retained from reading while only 50 percent were retained from math and other subjects.

SPARK also took a strong stance against private institutions after calling for the removal of the private sector on the system of education as they claim that continuing education amidst the Covid19 pandemic will only give more money to capitalists.

“Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan condemns these actions and demands for the complete expulsion of the private sector from the education system and other social services. In times like this, the masses need a better call towards stopping the rot of the education system, such as an academic freeze,” the group stated.

“Instead of letting capitalists bathe in money amid the pandemic, Estrada’s counter-call towards the aspirations of the people is just another alibi to fatten the wallets of the members of COCOPEA.”

The group urged President Duterte to sign an executive order to immediately implement an academic freeze until January to ease the financial burden to families amidst the health crisis, as it claimed it would buy time for reforms to give students a safe reopening of physical classes and more capacity for distance learning methods.

Education heads have already shut down calls to implement an academic freeze as they noted that ‘education must continue, whatever form it is’.