DepEd to release revised school safety assessment tool, final guidelines on face-to-face classes

As part of the implementation of the progressive expansion of limited face-to-face classes amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Education (DepEd) has revised its School Safety Assessment Tool (SSAT) and is currently finalizing the guidelines on the conduct of in-person learning.

DepEd Assistant Secretary Malcolm Garma, in a virtual presser on Wednesday, March 23, said that more schools are expected to participate in the progressive expansion of limited face-to-face classes as DepEd is set to release its revised SSAT.

Expected to be out next week, Garma said that the revised SSAT or the SSAT version 2 has “streamlined the requirements” for schools that are eyeing to participate in the limited face-to-face classes.

“What we learned from the pilot study is that there are many schools that were are having a difficulty complying with SSAT,” Garma said.

With the revised assessment tool or the SSAT 2, Garma said that “we are expecting more schools will be qualified” for the progressive expansion of limited face-to-face classes.

With the resumption of in-person classes amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Garma said that the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) of DepEd and the Department of Health (DOH) is also being finalized for the implementation of face-to-face classes.

“The final guidelines on limited face-to-face classes are also being finalized,” he said.

Garma said that there were some adjustments in the policies to make it “more relevant” to the current situation but at the same time, “dynamic to adapt to whatever possible situation that might arise in so far as the Covid-19 is concerned.”

In the same presser, Garma said based on the quick count as of March 22, 2022, there is a total of 14, 396 public and private schools submitted by the regions that are nominated for the progressive expansion phase of the limited face-to-face classes with 2, 600, 773 learners.

There are also 10, 196 schools --- 9,994 public schools and 212 private schools --- that are participating in the implementation of limited face-to-face classes.

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https://mb.com.ph/2022/03/23/10196-public-private-schools-now-implementing-limited-face-to-face-classes-deped/