Gov’t should reimburse tuition fees for unofficial class suspensions

Some reported traffic jams of up to three hours. Others reported none at all. But behind the polarizing reports of road congestion during last Monday’s INC medical mission lay a common chorus among most parents: What gives any group the right, whether political, religious or otherwise, to suspend classes on a whim for anything other than extreme forces of nature?

The fact that it was called just after a major typhoon swept through Luzon and a day before another public holiday just upped the head-scratching to WTF levels.

“You know that a country’s leadership has gone to the dogs when they cancel education to accommodate a dental program of a religious sect.” said a friend who preferred to remain anonymous.

But politics and religion aside, as a parent of three school-going children, I would just like to say that I want a refund. Yes, a refund. If an employee gets deducted pay for missing work, I think I’m entitled to get the tuition fee for the day reimbursed by whoever it was that called classes off for no good reason.

Ah, but they will say that there is good reason. Aside from the charitable act that will help millions, the government no longer wants to be blamed for yet another gates-of-hell traffic jam like the one last Thursday and Friday. And as the INC was estimating 1.6 million people to converge in five key areas using 5,000 buses, they made the call to suspend classes to ease our burden.

Fair enough.

I agree that it is a highly commendable act. But why not hold it on a Sunday then? Or the public holiday yesterday? Why a day after and a day before a non-working day? And why the last minute announcement? As it is, our children have already missed way over a week of school days this year because of flooding and typhoons. And it has the netizens hopping mad.

“Why is the INC doing a medical mission on a weekday? Free or otherwise, this should have been done on the weekend. That so-called “FREE” medical mission will end up costing the Filipino people in thousands of man-hours wasted in traffic and millions of pesos lost in a paralyzed city. All for a “FREE” medical mission.”  ––Leslie Sy.

“This suspension of classes makes this event even bigger than the President’s SONA, where only classes in the vicinity of Batasan were suspended.” ––Rene Serrano.

“Good deeds should take everything into consideration; you shouldn’t block the whole street just to get a cat stuck from a tree. The mission itself is great and probably much needed in some areas;, it’s just the execution that’s a bit off. With all the man hours lost due to natural events like storms/flooding, we don’t need to lose more for events like this which could’ve been scheduled better.” ––Max Mahinay

Even Supreme Court spokesman Ted Te joined the tirade and lambasted Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, and Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno for the traffic jams caused by the Iglesia ni Cristo medical missions.

“May permit ba to? Isn’t this a public assembly in non-freedom parks? See BP 880.” The SC spokesman ranted on his Twitter account as he was stuck in heavy traffic on the way to his office before 7am. “Traffic along Espana this early caused by buses and jeeps of this favored sect,” he continued, along with a series of other irate tweets in which he tagged all the government officials concerned.

Some of those who are supportive of the suspension of classes are trying to turn it into a religious issue by saying that had it been a Catholic church event we would not be hearing all this hate––which is not only inflammatory but simply ridiculous. Just ask Megan Young. I’m pretty sure the country has nothing but love, pride and respect for her, but nothing washes that away faster than closing Ayala Avenue on a stormy Friday payday just to wish her well. There are other ways. But you need to go to school to know that.