Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday said the government should include private schools in its plans to resume limited face-to-face classes.
Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, said private schools have the capacity to invest in health protocols and have more space compared to public schools.
“I’ve talked to a lot of private schools and they are ready to invest and ready to open. Let’s allow private schools because they have the luxury of space and they’re willing to put in the investment to make their schools safe,” Gatchalian said in an interview on ANC Headstart.
However, the senator noted only 30 public schools have so far applied to be allowed to resume in-person classes.
“I think there’s still a lot of fear because the criteria is very strict. You need the local government units (LGUs) and the community, stakeholders to agree,” he pointed out.
“There’s still a lot of fear among LGUs and community members of the school,” he lamented.
But he said the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Health’s (DOH) vaccination program for minors would help boost the confidence of parents.
“Definitely, this will be a gamechanger. A lot of our parents are already ready to inoculate their teenagers,” he said.
“With this vaccination of teenagers, confidence will go up. This will improve the confidence of our parents to bring their kids back to school,” he pointed out.