On Monday, Nov. 15, selected schools in the Philippines reopen its doors to students in basic education after 20 months of closure due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
This after the pilot implementation of limited face-to-face classes in select public schools identified by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Health (DOH) officially starts.
In a statement, DepEd welcomed the participating learners, teachers, and personnel in 100 public schools for the start of the pilot implementation of limited face-to-face classes.
“We are thankful for everyone who supported this key phase in our safe return to school advocacy, from the planning stage since 2020 to this monumental day,” DepEd said.
DepEd also expressed gratitude to the assistance of the DOH, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), child health experts, local government units, international and local partners, school personnel, parents, and other stakeholders for “reinforcing our shared responsibility framework in this critical undertaking.”
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/11/13/deped-cites-partners-support-for-the-implementation-of-pilot-face-to-face-classes/
“Most importantly, we are happy to see our learners inside our classrooms as we recognize the significance of face-to-face learning in their social development,” DepEd said.
Meanwhile, DepEd noted that in the coming weeks, more learners in public and private schools will follow suit as the President approved to increase the number of pilot participants.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/11/12/more-schools-to-join-pilot-run-of-face-to-face-classes-deped/
“As we take a huge step of reintroducing face-to-face classes amidst the public health situation, we are optimistic that our Bayanihan spirit will live on to ensure the safety of involved stakeholders and the success of this pilot run,” DepEd said.
Related to this, DepEd appealed to the public to “always follow” the required health protocols and standards.
“With everyone’s help in improving our country’s COVID-19 situation, our vision to safely reopen more schools nationwide is not a far reality,” DepEd said. “Together, let us mark this day as our leap of faith towards realizing Ligtas na Balik-Eskwela!” it added.
On March 10, 2020, the Philippine government prohibited students from all levels from attending face-to-face classes due to the threat of COVID-19.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/10/one-year-after-schools-remain-closed-but-education-continues/
In an effort to ensure that education will continue, DepEd implemented its Basic Education - Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) and opened School Year (SY) 2020-2021 under a distance learning set-up on Oct. 5. 2021.
All schools offering basic education - both public and private - were directed to implement multiple learning delivery modalities where students learn their lessons at home.
Printed and offline modular learning, online learning, television and radio-based instruction and a combination of two or more of these modalities under “blended learning” were implemented in public schools. Most, if not all, students in private schools attended online classes.
On Sept. 13, 2021, DepEd opened the new school year (SY 2021-2022) under an enhanced blended learning set-up.
A week after, the President approved the two-month implementation of pilot face-to-face classes for Kindergarten, Grades 1 to 3 pupils and select Senior High School (SHS) students under the tech-voc track.