Revealing that students are ‘somewhat unprepared’ to resume face to face classes, majority of the respondents in an Office of the Buklod Ambassador (OBA) survey preferred to do so only “when vaccines are already made available,” as discussed in the Forward Together Public Forum: Safe Return to Campus via Zoom and Facebook Live last Monday.

The OBA, in partnership with SAMAHAN Research and Development (R&D), tallied 366 out of 500 respondents who opted “when vaccines are already made available” as the “most appropriate time to resume face to face classes.”

Meejan Rachman, Communications Director of OBA, also included the point of view of students about the need to go back to face to face classes in her report. 

“The students thought that the need to return to campus is ‘neither important nor unimportant’ with a mean score of 4.06,” Rachman shared, referring to its Likert description.

She also reported the perspective of the students about the preparedness of the Local Government Unit of Davao and the Institution when it comes to regulating the resumption of face to face classes. Both revealed to be ‘somewhat unprepared.’

“A majority or 444 out of 500 respondents stated that the University should give free personal protective equipment to the students when regulating face to face classes,” she added, pertaining to the suggestion of the students to the University.

Rachman also laid down the policy recommendations made by the students about the rules and regulations on the possibility of the return to face to face classes. 

In terms of classroom setting… 

1. A maximum of 20 students should only be allowed inside the classroom.
2. The usage of air conditioners should be prohibited.
3. Professors should be the only ones to move from classroom to classroom to reduce contact.
4. Each armchair should be equipped with a protective shield.
5. Professors also should be equipped with infrared thermometers to monitor students’ temperature.
6. Strict implementation of morning and evening shifts.
7. Laboratory classes should be prioritized for in-school activities.
8. Professors should use microphones when lecturing.

With regards to the University protocol… 

1. The University should provide basic hygiene and protective kits to its students, teachers, and staff (e.g. face masks, alcohols). 
2. The University should conduct rapid testing for its students, teachers, and staff once a week. 
3. The University should have its own set of contact tracers. 
4. Conduct weekly disinfection in the University. 
5. Dress code/uniform policy should be lifted, 
6. Physical extracurricular activities should be suspended to encourage students to go home immediately. 
7. The University should provide transportation for its students, teachers, and staff (school bus system). 
8. The University should provide medical insurance for its students, teachers, and staff. 
9. The University should place physical distancing marks in public facilities (i.e. libraries, Arrupe hall, gazebo, cafeteria, etc.). 
10. Consistent roving security guards to ensure physical distancing. 
11. University should temporarily close all the drinking fountains. 
12. Reduce the number of lounging areas in the University. 
13. Students should bring their own utensils when eating in the cafeteria. 
14. Schedules should be indicated in the student’s ID (either morning or evening shift) for easy monitoring. 

Rachman presented anonymous student narratives, one suggesting that the University “[should provide] allowance for food and transportation.”

Another shared their concern regarding summative assessments that needed to be taken physically, and those that were not yet taken during the summer class.

“Students who have had summer classes or are required to take their summative exams physically should be given ample time before resuming the regular face to face classes, especially BSA students,” they pointed.

Conducted last August, the OBA and SAMAHAN R&D picked a sample of 500 respondents out of 2,438 undergraduates, chosen through stratified random sampling which was proportionate to the number of students per School to the total population.

Most respondents came from the School of Engineering and Architecture which consisted of 22.6 percent, while the least came from the School of Education with 1.8 percent.

The public forum was the third of the series of talks organized by SAMAHAN in relation to discussing different matters of exit points in the semester and in preparation for the next.