By Pearl Gumapos
The first day of limited face-to-face classes on Nov. 15 was a success according to Department of Education (DepEd) Sec. Leonor Briones when she appeared on the Laging Handa public briefing on Tuesday, Nov. 16.
“So, 97 schools ang nag bukas kahapon [with] 5,000 learners and almost 1,000 teachers. And aspiration namin ay by 2022, sa next academic school year ay ma-further expand ang [implementation of face-to-face classes],” Briones said.
DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan also said that this pilot implementation will hopefully prepare the country in the near future for the expansion of limited face-to-face learning.
“Malugod nating tinanggap ang unang mga mag-aaral natin na tumuntong muli sa ating mga paaralan physically, matapos ang mahigit isang school year na tayo ay pure distance learning,” Malaluan said during a Palace public briefing.
“This is preparatory to an expansion phase and we are confident that we will be able to successfully conduct this pilot phase. We will learn from it, and so that we will be ready for the implementation/introduction of face-to-face classes sa lahat po ng ating paaralan sa buong bansa sa susunod na taong 2022,” he said.
Meanwhile, Briones added that there should be safety measures to be implemented for the success of limited face-to-face classes.
“Kailangan talaga may clearance galing sa DOH on the safety assessment of the school. So mayroon silang mga standards. On the part of DepEd, gusto aming ma-secure na papayag ang local government. Hindi kami papasok at mag face-to-face without the consent and cooperation of the local governments,” she said.
“Kailangan talaga mayroong clearance from the DOH at may risk assessment. Para sa atin, iyon ang importante na consideration. The health of the children and our teachers is paramount,” she added. – bny
