Veterinary student org slams Cebu university for holding in-person classes

The National Congress of Veterinary Medicine Students (NCVMS) called out a state university in Cebu province for allegedly holding physical classes even without permission from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

In an open letter to CHED Central Visayas posted on Monday, March 29, NCVMS national director John Louis Gonzales said the College of Veterinary Medicine in the Cebu Technological University (CTU) – Barili Campus has put the students at risk by requiring them to attend physical classes.

All in-person classes are banned in the Philippines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“With the rising trend of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines that exceeds 9,000 cases per day and has reached 9,475 yesterday, this situation is alarming,” the letter read.

“We agree that the program Doctor of Veterinary Medicine requires practical skills that may be holistically acquired through physical means. However, honing competent veterinarians also includes prioritizing their welfare and undergoing the right process,” it added.

CTU-Barili College of Veterinary Medicine reportedly began holding face-to-face classes on Tuesday, March 23.

Gonzales, in the letter, said that some students in the university claimed that they were only given two options: to heed to face-to-face classes or forego enrollment for the current semester. 

The school, which has 23 campuses across Cebu, was not included in CHED’s list of 24 universities and colleges eligible to hold face-to-face classes in the country.

In Central Visayas, only two universities had been approved to resume physical classes: the Cebu Institute of Medicine and the University of Cebu School of Medicine. 

Gonzales said that during a dialogue with constituents from CTU-Barili, they also said that physical distancing was not strictly observed.

He received reports that a professor would also take off her mask while holding classes and that students were not provided any personal protective equipment, and that classes did not start on time.

“This concern was coursed through my office because the students are repressed, are not given proper representation, and efforts made to cancel the conduct of physical classes are dismissed,” Gonzales wrote. 

NCVMS demanded CHED and the Department of Health to test for COVID-19 all students, professors, and non-teaching personnel in the college. They also asked that students be sent home as soon as possible.

Aside from these demands, they wanted students to be properly represented in the university, and that the administrators and dean of the college be made accountable for disregarding CHED rules. 

Rappler reached out to CTU-Barili multiple times for its statement but have not yet received a response as of posting. 

On Tuesday, March 30, CHED Central Visayas regional director Max Aljibe, in a statement to media, said the school had already been given an order to stop physical classes.

“The School was ordered to stop right away if indeed the report is true. This was already coordinated with the school admin concerned and they said it will STOP conducting face-to-face classes,” the statement read. – Rappler.com