With less than three weeks before the School Year (SY) 2021-2022 formally opens, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday, Aug. 24, expressed readiness to start a new school year under the so-called “new normal.”
“DepEd and its partners have been very deep into our preparations for school opening,” Education Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Nepomuceno Malaluan said during a virtual press conference for the “Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE).”
As part of the preparations for school opening, Malaluan said that DepEd started the regular enrollment on Aug. 16.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/16/remote-enrollment-in-public-schools-starts-on-aug-16-deped/
“The regular enrollment will be until Sept. 13 or the opening day of classes and will end on June 24, 2022,” he added.
OBE in the ‘new normal’
With theme, “Bayanihan Para sa Ligtas na Balik Eskewla,” the National OBE for SY 2021-2022 will be conducted from Sept. 6 to Sept. 17.
“The OBE is a two-week national activity of DepEd that aims to address queries, complaints and other concerns that are commonly encountered by the public at the start of the school year, to ensure that learners are properly enrolled and able to attend (thru blended learning) the first day of classes,” Malaluan explained.
As stated in DepEd Memorandum No. 58 s. of 2021, Malaluan said that the DepEd sets up the OBE - Public Assistance Command Center (OBE-PACC) at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan, Central Office with personnel of the Public Affairs Service.
“This is organized by the Central Office and rolled-out to regional and division offices nationwide,” he said. “This is held simultaneously with Regional Offices thru its Public Affairs Unit, in cooperation with Division offices and schools,” he added.
Partnership is crucial
Even before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Malaluan said that the DepEd along with its partner agencies annually holds a convergence effort through the OBE Inter Agency Task Force (OBE-IATF).
“We are really happy that we are joined today by our partner agencies and they will share with us their support for school opening,” Malaluan said.
The partner agencies for OBE 2021 include the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Health (DOH), Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Manila Electric Company (MERALCO), Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Systems (MWSS), and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Other partner agencies include Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Philippine National Police (PNP), National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO).
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