By Alec Go
With the school year set to begin on Aug. 22 this year, the Department of Education (DepEd) said unvaccinated learners will still be accepted as COVID-19 vaccination remains voluntary.
During the Aug. 2 Palace briefing, DepEd Spokesperson Atty. Michale Poa said the department has no separate guidelines for vaccinated and unvaccinated students and staff.
“We have a non-discriminatory policy at the Department of Education. Meaning for both teaching/non-teaching personnel, as well as our learners themselves, we will not discriminate,” he said.
“Wala pong separate guidelines for those that are vaccinated and those that are unvaccinated, so voluntary pa rin po ang pananaw natin sa vaccination,” he added.
As of Tuesday, Aug. 2, Poa said there have already been 13.152 million enrollees for the school year, a “significantly higher” turnout compared to the figures in the previous years. First day enrollees were also higher at 3.3 million than last year’s 220,000.
The DepEd launched the Brigada Eskwela 2022 on Monday, Aug. 1, to prepare schools for the upcoming conduct of classes, including face-to-face learning setup.
Schools damaged by the July 27 magnitude 7.0 earthquake and previous disasters in 2021 and early 2022 require a P18 billion budget for their repair and restoration.
“What we are looking at now po from the Department of Education side is quick intervention. Nandoon po tayo sa pagtatayo ng mga temporary learning spaces natin. Ito po iyong spaces made out of light materials, pero may bubong po ito, para safe naman po mag-aral ang ating mga learners,” Poa said.
The DepEd is also coordinating with local government units to “clear out” COVID-19 isolation facilities in schools before classes resume. – gb
