University of San Carlos to continue classes online

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The University of San Carlos announced on Saturday, April 25, that online classes will continue until May 23 despite the clamor of students to end the semester as Cebu City continues to be on lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

In a statement signed by Fr Dionisio Miranda, SVD, president of University of San Carlos, the school admitted that like other educational institutions, it was “skeptical about the value of mass promotion.”

“Those Ps (letter grades) may provide relief temporarily, but will permanently raise questions and diffidence about the graduates’ actual competence. In the name of academic integrity, USC simply wants its grades to be as credible as they are earned,” Miranda said. 

Miranda said that the school’s “decisions were made on assessments, making expanding learning opportunities a matter of academic policy and not only guiding educational philosophy.”

USC students launched a Change.org petition that asked the school to immediately terminate the second semester of academic year 2019-2020, mass promote all students, and refund or carry over to the next semester unused tuition fees.

The petition has received over 9,100 signatures as of posting time. 

The USC administration expressed worry that simply passing the students would end up detrimental to them, noting the weaknesses and challenges Filipino students now face compared to their Asian counterparts. 

“We have graduates who cannot even write a creditable application letter, and industry has long complained about job applicants not having basic skills.”, Miranda added. (READ: Senior high school students struggle to write in English)

“Education should be resumed as soon as feasible; stakeholders can continue the discussion on online education in search of creative solutions like blended learning. This is the time to think outside the box and not be trapped in conventional reactions,” Miranda also said.

Currently, there are strict border controls cordoning off Cebu City from the rest of the province. Many of the students may have gone home prior to the lockdown and do not have consistent internet access. Some remain at the dorms and cannot buy data load to attend internet classes.

The University of the Philippines’ Board of Regents recently came to a similar decision to continue classes, but many professors decided to cancel classes and pass students amid the outbreak. 

Meanwhile, another Cebu school, the University of San Jose Recoletos, decided to end its semester early and said that it would not announce tuition payment deadlines, new class schedules, and admission exams until the enhanced community quarantine is over. 

Cebu City currently has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the region with 412 infections.



Because of the rising numbers, Cebu City and Cebu province have been deemed “high-risk” areas by the Inter-Agency Task Force on infectious diseases. The national government imposed an extension of the enhanced community quarantine – or lockdown – in both the city and province. (READ: Cebu, Davao City, other areas in VisMin on lockdown until May 15)

Cebu City Edgar Labella has earlier announced that he was extending Cebu City’s lockdown until May 15.

The lockdown over Cebu province, meanwhile, was indefinite, as Governor Gwen Garcia did not put an end-date on the order.

The coronavirus cases nationally have reached 7,294, with 494 deaths and 792 recoveries as of Saturday, April 25. – Rappler.com