Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian on Friday, Jan. 21 said he supports the progressive expansion of limited face-to-face classes in areas under Alert Levels 1 and 2.
The move, according to Gatchalian, is a crucial next step in the recovery of the basic education sector from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Duterte recently approved the recommendation of the Department of Education (DepEd) to expand limited face-to-face classes.
According to DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones, only vaccinated teaching and non-teaching staff would be allowed to participate in the limited face-to-face classes while vaccinated learners would be given preference.
For Gatchalian, this presses the urgency of vaccinating minors aged 5 to 11 to further boost the confidence of parents and learners.
He also reiterated his call on local government units to prepare for the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines among 5-to-11-year-olds.
The government is eyeing the vaccination of minors aged 5 to 11 by February. According to National Task Force Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer and Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez, Jr., the target is to vaccinate 15.56 million minors aged 5 to 11 this year.
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Basic Education, Arts and Culture committee, said there were 287 schools and around 15,000 learners that participated in the pilot run of limited face-to-face classes.
According to DepEd, no COVID-19 infection was recorded among those who participated in the pilot run.
The DepEd added that attendance in limited face-to-face classes is high at 83 percent.
Earlier this month, the DepEd shared results of a survey showing that 97 percent of learners from Grades 1 to 3 and 86 percent of senior high school students were satisfied with their overall experience of face-to-face classes.