The Boons and Banes of Academic Freeze in Time of Pandemic
When the pandemic broke out, isolation, stress, and fear crept in like a trope of a slow-burn film.
Face-to-face classes were not immediately canceled and when online classes were implemented, increasing
tasks were given to compensate for the time spent at home, draining the students mentally. All of these
happened while a lack of support system and socialization suck the remaining life out of them, unaware.
By the time COVID-19 enjoyed its stay longer than expected, students were driven by emotional exhaustion
and social deprivation to finally voice out their desire to rest which gave birth to a petition they call
“academic freeze”. However, despite the cries of young people for what could have been improved health,
flexibility, and opportunity, the petition was blatantly ignored as its drawbacks weighed out.
Looking back, the academic freeze would have left room for improved public health, flexibility for
students, and opportunities for innovation was it implemented. Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases,
pausing in-person classes would help in mitigating such infectious virus and protect the health of the people.
Not only will academic freeze help in controlling the spread of the virus, but it would also aid the students
to be more flexible by letting them rest and explore the academe in isolation without academic pressure.
This flexibility extends to the institutions to be innovative and adopt new technologies and teaching
methods that would improve inclusivity and access to education.
Even with these prospects for improvement, the drawbacks weighed out in the argument.
Implementation of an academic freeze, in the literal sense, means abruptly halting classes which would
disrupt the continuity of learning and impose further exclusivity on those who have reliable access to the
internet or suitable learning environments. Furthermore, the abruption of classes would further inhibit the
socialization of students which could result in prolonged isolation, impacting their mental well-being
negatively with the feeling of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Economically, institutions would lose
their revenues, and employment opportunities for students would be reduced due to the lack of first-hand
learning and experience. Additionally, the socioeconomic gap in terms of educational access would widen
even more.
Through weighing out the boons and the banes of academic freeze and coming to an adamant
decision of decline, the government has come to a disposition of remote learning and improved support
systems. Instead of discontinuing the flow of learning, they are apt to improve access to education through
optimizing online classes. Inclusivity became greatly valued by providing students with the freedom to
choose between online synchronous classes and modular asynchronous classes. The government also shone
a light on strong support systems including mental health resources, technological assistance, and financial
aid.
With this in mind, while an academic freeze would have been beneficial to a certain extent, its
negative impact on the economy, learning, and mental health was argumentatively heavy. Thus, the
resolution of the government to balance these opportunities and drawbacks was a significantly fair decision,
considering how time moved forward and this complexity is almost forgotten. However desirable the
decision was, the future is not guaranteed. Those in position need to stay alert and proactive in creating a
better education system for the future. After all, we are only at the resolution of this slow-burn film and the
outcome is yet to be determined.