Higher education institutions (HEIs) cannot be required to conduct face-to-face classes, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Wednesday, July 13, said.
In a virtual presser, CHED Chairman Popoy De Vera explained that the existing policy of the commission allows public and private HEIs to decide whether or not they will offer in-person classes following the easing of public health restrictions.
“We cannot require all schools to do face-to-face because there are schools that have been doing flexible learning even before the pandemic,” De Vera said.
CHED’s reaction comes after the announcement of the Department of Education (DepEd) requiring all schools offering basic education to shift to full face-to-face learning starting Nov. 2, 2022.
“We cannot have face-to-face for all degree programs because the degree programs are constructed differently, and also because many schools have gone ahead with online learning even before the pandemic,” De Vera explained.
Many HEIs, he added, also invested in flexible learning options --- thus, they should be allowed to decide the learning modalities that they will implement in the coming academic year.
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De Vera stressed that even before the pandemic, many universities and colleges have been utilizing flexible learning options depending on the need of the courses that they offer.
“Many of our universities have very good facilities to do flexible learning, they have learning management systems, they have strong connectivity, they have very good content materials,” De Vera said.
De Vera furthered that some degree programs do not “really need a lot of face-to-face” sessions --- especially those that are skills-based programs. Others, he added, can also be delivered through flexible learning.
As a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, CHED has been implementing Flexible Learning since 2020. In this learning modality, HEIs can decide what is the “appropriate mix” of education delivery where online and offline options can be utilized.
While HEIs cannot be required to hold in-person classes, De Vera said that a “significant number” of universities and colleges are expected to shift to face-to-face classes this upcoming academic year (AY) 2022-2023.
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