After school opening was postponed for the second time, the Department of Education (DepEd) is now planning to make “certain adjustments” in the school calendar it issued in May.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said the DepEd is concerned with the implications of having school open on October 5, especially relating to the number of school days required for curriculum operations as with the activities set for both teachers and students.
“These are our concerns as well especially in the case of our regions which are under low risk assessment or where they have zero record of new COVID cases,” Briones said. “We have to do certain adjustments."
Due to the COVID-19 situation in the country, DepEd delayed the school opening schedule for the basic education for School Year (SY) 2020-2021 for three months.
Originally scheduled on June 1, the school opening was moved to August 24 after consultations with various education stakeholders - including parents and students.
However, the scheduled school opening was postponed anew as directed by President Duterte.
Briones noted that while the formal school opening was moved to October, schools can proceed with the activities lined up for teachers and students.
“We can already proceed with the simulations of the classes so when we open in October, the children are already ready,” she said.
Currently, Briones recognized that there is a “bottleneck” in preparation of the written modules as well as the finalization of television programs.
The school opening postponement, she said, will “gives us more time to prepare.”