THE SAMAHAN ng Progresibong Kabataan will hold a protest rally on November 24 after Commission on Higher Education chairman Prospero de Vera III failed to declare a nationwide academic break.

The rally will be held in front of the CHED building and UP Diliman this Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 12 noon..

“We boldly declare that we have had enough and will no longer be deceived. We will have the education system that we deserve, with or without you. But better without you,” the SPARK said on its Facebook post.

The group also insisted that distance learning is not education and only forces students to pursue their education despite the crisis.

“Distance learning is not education. Distance learning uses the veneer of education to force students, teachers, and school workers to continue working despite a global health crisis, unequal access to the needed tools, and the forces of nature,” the group added.

At the same time, SPARK said despite the one to two-week long academic break, it was not enough to recover from all the damages brought by the typhoon.

“School administrations have suspended classes for one week or even less, as if one week is enough for students and teachers to recover from back-to-back typhoons and a semester of burnout; as if one week is enough for the country’s ICT problems to fix themselves,” SPARK said.