The College of the Holy Spirit Manila, a 107-year-old Catholic school, announced yesterday that it would shut down in 2022 amidst the difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Be it known that the College of Holy Spirit of Manila will voluntarily cease operations at the end of AY 2021-2022. This timeline allows the school to graduate its current Grade 11 and 3rd Year College students. Therefore, Grade 12 and 4th Year College will be operational but levels K to Grade 11, and 1st to 3rd Year College will not be opened for AY 2021-2022,” an online statement from the school said.
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While the school did not explain why the shutdown was necessary, a letter from one of its officials said that the institution has been struggling to attract students due to the pandemic, ABS-CBN reported.
Sister Carmelita Victoria of the Mission Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit, which manages the school, said in an Oct. 28 letter that the organization “has faced an increasingly challenging environment resulting from (i) government policies on K-12; (ii) free tuition in state colleges and universities, local universities and colleges, and state-run technical and vocational institutions; and (iii) the significant increase in public school teachers’ salaries compared to their private school counterparts.”
“The recent COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation,” she added.
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At least 865 private schools have shut down due to the pandemic, according to the Department of Education.
Countless schools have found it difficult to transition to blended learning, which uses various media such as the internet and printed modules to teach students. President Rodrigo Duterte has prohibited face-to-face learning, saying that it would resume only once a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available in the Philippines.
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