MANILA - The University of the Philippines Board of Regents (BOR) on Thursday decided to end the state university's current semester on April 30, but "academic work for students and faculty will continue under the deferred grade scheme," said the Office of the Student Regent.
"With a vote of 6-3, the UP Board of Regents approved the proposed policy of the Presidential Advisory Council," it said in a statement.
It noted that the Sectoral Regents--Student, Faculty, Staff--opposed the policy, as they maintained that an immediate end to the semester and mass promotion were better options.
"We express our disappointment at the outcome which did not heed the resounding call of the students, faculty, and staff," the Office of the Student Regent said.
"We stand firm that the immediate ending of the semester and mass promotion are still the most humane and inclusive responses to the terrible situation we find ourselves in," it added.
The sectoral regents earlier urged BOR to give students a non-numerical passing mark to all students and end the semester on April 30 to keep them safe from the coronavirus pandemic.
The regents have rejected proposals to defer the grading of students, saying this would spawn a "complicated series of events," including re-establishing contact with students in the first 2 weeks after the lockdown.
A "substantial number" of students and faculty members do not have the internet access and the necessary devices for this, while many other members of the UP community are helping in the crisis as frontliners, the regents earlier said.
Deferred grades will also require the university to deploy anxious staff to assist in administrative matters, they said.
"University is not in a good position to compel both students and faculty to reengage in the pursuit of finishing academic loose ends," said the sectoral regents.
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