A network of education practitioners, parents, students, and development workers who advocate for the continuity of education in times of crisis expressed support for the resumption of face-to-face classes for all schools this incoming school year.
Aral Pilipinas, in a statement, welcomed the initiative of Vice President-elect and incoming Department of Education (DepEd) Sara Duterte to push for the full implementation of face-to-face classes in schools nationwide by August 2022.
“It’s about time we allow more children to attend face-to-face classes, especially in areas under Alert Level 1,” says Aral Pilipinas Lead Convenor Regina Sibal.
Citing data from DepEd as of May 3, Aral Pilipinas said that only 26,344 schools out of the total 60,473 are currently holding limited in-person classes. “Moreover, out of 27,234,095 students, only 6,175,631 have gone back to school for face-to-face classes,” the group said.
Aral Pilipinas, in consultation with technical experts, also came up with a study that showed that the number of learners per class could safely be increased if classrooms can meet the 1000 parts per million (ppm) air quality threshold.
In this regard, Aral Pilipinas recommends increasing the number of learners per class (for the standard DepEd classroom with an area of 63 sqm) from the current 12-20 to 20-30 learners, coupled with the issuance of practical ventilation guidance for schools to maintain 6 to 12 air change per hour (ACH) in classrooms.
The group said that practical ventilation guidance to improve ACH in classrooms includes opening all windows, installing exhaust fans and air filtration devices such as Corsi-Rosenthal boxes, and pointing electric fans outside instead of towards people.
“Focusing on improving ventilation in classrooms will facilitate the easing of physical distancing requirements, which would allow more learners to participate in face-to-face classes,” Aral Pilipinas said.
“Nonetheless, the ventilation guidelines must be complemented with other health protocols such as the wearing of face masks,” the group added.
Moreover, the group also pushes for operational guidelines to “help schools monitor and maintain safe ventilation thresholds must be put in place.”
With a few months left before the opening of SY 2022-2023, Aral Pilipinas said that it is “imperative for the administration to strike a balance between the need to bring back our learners to school and to prevent Covid-19 transmission and this starts with creating responsive policies.”
Given this, Sibal underscored the need to “revisit and update” existing policies based on the latest scientific evidence on Covid-19 transmission.
“There is never a one-size-fits-all solution,” she said. “Now, we know it is airborne, and transmission can be prevented with good ventilation along with other health protocols,” she added.
Sibal also stressed the urgent need to adjust the existing policies and guidelines “so that more learners, if not all, will be able to return to face-to-face classes and mitigate the effects of school closure on students’ learning and development.”
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