As the Department of Education (DepEd) prepares for the full resumption of face-to-face classes this incoming school year, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte once again called on the unvaccinated personnel of the agency to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
“I continually call on our teaching and non-teaching unvaccinated Department of Education personnel to go to counseling and consider, reconsider your decision about vaccination,” Duterte said during the national kick-off of the 2022 “Brigada Eskwela” on Monday, Aug. 1 at the Imus Pilot Elementary School in Cavite.
Duterte said that to address the valid concerns over Covid 19 transmission, DepEd has also “laid down measures that will serve as our guide to prevent our children from contracting the virus.”
In July, DepEd released the guidelines on the School Calendar and Activities for School Year (SY) 2022-2023 under its commitment to the resumption of five days of in-person classes.
As stated in DepEd Order No. 034 series of 2022, the start of classes for this SY is on Aug. 22. Consisting of 203 school days or as may be determined by further issuance/s in case of changes in the school calendar due to unforeseen circumstances, the SY 2022-2023 will end on July 7, 2023.
In the issuance, DepEd also provided direction and guidance in the re-opening of classes and the gradual introduction of five days of in-person learning modality classes.
As stated in DO 034, DepEd said that “there will be no inspections, tools, or any additional requirements to re-open schools and implement five (5) days of in-person classes will be required, except for the compliance with the usual pre-pandemic regulatory permits and licenses, as required by law or ordinances.”
Meanwhile, DepEd only prescribed the options of five days of in-person classes, blended learning modality, and full distance learning until Oct. 31, 2022.
After the three-month transition, DepEd said that “all public and private schools shall have transitioned to 5 days of in-person classes” by Nov. 2, 2022.
DepEd noted that “no school shall be allowed to implement purely distance learning or blended learning” except for those implementing Alternative Delivery Modes as provided in the Policy Guidelines on the K to 12 Basic Education Program and Revised Policy Guidelines on Homeschooling Program.
Related to the school opening, DepEd said that the implementing guidelines on the School Calendar and Activities for SY 2022-2023 will apply to public and private elementary and secondary schools, including Community Learning Centers (CLCs) nationwide.
DepEd said that private schools, state/local universities, and colleges may implement the calendar. “They may also start classes not earlier than the first Monday of June and not later than the last day of August,” DepEd added.
The enrollment for SY 2022-2023 started on July 25 and will end on Aug. 22.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/08/01/deped-enrollment-for-sy-2022-2023-reaches-11-6-million/
Meanwhile, Duterte also recognized the contribution of various education stakeholders to ensure the successful opening of a new school year.
“Dahil sa inyong pagsusumikap, suporta, at pagmamahal sa bayan, kaya magiging matagumpay ang pagbubukas natin ng bagong school year at pagpapatupad natin ng mga proyekto at programa sa DepEd, isa na diyan ang in-person learning para sa ating mga anak. (Because of your hard work, support, and love for the people, we will be successful in opening the new school year and implementing projects and programs at DepEd, one of which is in-person learning for our children),” Duterte said.
RELATED STORY:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/08/01/deped-is-all-set-to-open-schools-on-aug-22-duterte/