THE KABATAAN Party-list, together with National Union of Students of the Philippines, on Monday launched the Balik-Eskwela Checklist to help students assess the safety of their school and the quality of education.

Representative Raoul Manuel said this will serve as a tool to objectively measure the readiness of schools for a safe reopening based on scientific and internationally recognized standards laid down in their House Bill 251 or the Safe School Reopening Bill.

“We encourage students to use this Checklist not to shame their school but as a means to know what can still be improved. The Department of Education, if anything, is primarily accountable for lack of preparedness detected among schools,” Manuel said.

Students were urged to disseminate the checklist to fellow students.

While complete responses will be received by the Kabataan Partylist and NUSP National Offices, Manuel said students should post on social media or produce creative content to expose examples of good compliance and lacking preparation of their schools to open the public eye on the education crisis.

“Use #BantayBalikEskwela in any post or use the #BantayBalikEskwela Checklist as an opportunity to rally support for greater funding for education, safe school reopening and student aid,” the lawmaker said.

The findings will be collated at the end of the week and the data will be used as basis to lobby for the Safe School Reopening Bill, Student Aid Bill and a higher education budget.

“We hope to build a movement of students actively taking charge of ensuring their right to education for the benefit of the nation,” he said.