After extending the school calendar until July this year, the Department of Education (DepEd) said that the deliberations for the opening of classes for School Year (SY) 2021-2022 are still ongoing.
DepEd Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Nepomuceno Malaluan confirmed that the key officials of the agency are constantly discussing issues related to the current school year as well as the opening of the new school year.
“The opening of classes in the next school year is still under deliberation,” Malaluan told reporters in a Viber message when asked if the agency is eyeing to open the new school year in September.
The opening of SY 2020-2021 was moved from June to October this school year due to the disruptions brought about by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation in the country.
With face-to-face classes still prohibited, 26.6 million students currently enrolled in both public and private schools at the basic education level are under home-based or distance learning set-up.
In public schools, DepEd is implementing various learning delivery modalities such as modular (both printed and offline), online, television and radio-based instruction and blended learning or a combination of two or more modalities.
While DepEd has yet to decide when the new school year will open, Malaluan noted that the adjustments made in the current school year will also affect the schedule in SY 2021-2022.