The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said Thursday it suspended foreign internships for Filipino students as a precautionary measure against the COVID-19 pandemic.
CHED Chair Prospero De Vera III said the suspension covers the school year 2020 to 2021 and is meant to protect the welfare of students.
“Para siguruhin ang kaligtasan ng ating mga estudyante, sinuspende na ng komisyon lahat ng foreign internship ngayong school year na ito,” he said during a Malacañang press briefing.
(To protect our college students, the commission has suspended all foreign internships for the school year.
“Hindi tayo sigurado sa kalagayan ng ating mga estudyante kapag sila’y pinaalis natin, hindi natin alam kung ‘yong kanilang pupuntahang mga lugar ay ligtas,” he said.
(We’re not sure about the welfare of our students if we allow them to have an internship abroad, we don’t know if it’s safe in their destination.)
De Vera also noted that the CHED might encounter difficulties in the transportation of students leaving the Philippines. There might also be some problems in repatriating Filipino students who take their internships abroad.
Earlier, the CHED urged colleges and universities to move their on-the-job trainings and internships to the second semester of the school year in compliance with the distance learning protocols of the government.
READ: CHED tells colleges, universities to move OJTs to second semester
It also said it was studying “flexible” internships for Filipino students.
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