The University of the Philippines (UP) has set a mid-semester reading break on Undas week for its students and faculty members.
According to a memorandum dated Monday, October 12 from the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA), the weeklong reading break from November 2 to 6 was scheduled “to manage the stress of adjusting to the new experience of remote learning in the midst of the pandemic.”
“This is the time to do advance reading or to simply take a break from grappling with heavy course demands, on the one hand, and a high level of COVID19-induced anxiety, on the other,” the memo advised students.
The UP OVPAA also encouraged its faculty to refrain from holding class activities and assessments and setting deadlines for course requirements during the break.
“This break may be a time to further reflect on adjustments to be made in course delivery and assessment,” the memo told educators.
Prior to this announcement, the UP Office of the Student Regent and other student councils within the UP System urged administrators to schedule an academic break a month after classes officially opened on September 10.
“This will be an ease, even just for a short period, for the constituency to breathe from the burnout massively experienced by so many due to the remote learning setup,” the Student Regent said in a statement.
“We commend the student body for using our voice together. We continue to strongly call on UP to use this period as well to reassess and re-calibrate its plans for the ongoing semester to directly cater to the needs of the UP community,” the student official added.
The said memo does not cover UP’s non-teaching staff.