The Department of Education (DepED) was urged to be “transparent” when it comes to the Covid-19 situation in schools as part of its efforts to ensure the safety of students and teachers with the scheduled return to full face-to-face classes in November.

In a press conference organized by Aral Pilipinas on Monday, Oct. 24, health reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon underscored the importance of transparency in the release of data regarding Covid-19 infections among learners and teachers as public schools prepare for the full implementation of in-person classes starting next week.

“Everybody wants to go to back school but how can we protect ourselves if we are not empowered, educated and engaged about our data?” Leachon said in a mix of English and Filipino.

After two years under distance learning, DepED allowed schools to implement face-to-face classes this School Year (SY) 2022-2023.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2022/08/21/ph-schools-to-open-sy-2022-2023-with-face-to-face-classes/

However, the agency has yet to release data on the number of learners, teachers, and non-teaching personnel since classes started in public schools in August.

Leachon noted that transparency in terms of the release of data by DepED is very crucial for education stakeholders in helping them ensure the safe return of students in schools amid the pandemic.

“Ang tagal nang hinihintay pero wala pa tayo nakikita dito , and this should be transparent,” Leachon said.

“Without the data, without the information, how can we act on something that we don’t have?” he added.

Leachon also underscored the importance of transparency in the data since Covid-19 cases may be “under reported.”

Managing Covid-19 data, Leachon said, is one of the responsibilities of the government --- especially the Inter-Agency Task Force (ATF) which includes the Department of Health (DOH), DepEd, and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), among others.

“When there’s an in increase in cases in the community, schools and the DepED should be alerted,” Leachon said.

He also noted the importance of “segregation” or how many learners have been affected by Covid-19 since face-to-fa classes started in August.

“While the thrust of the government is to open up the economy, think, for the safety of the kids, we have to be transparent about our data,” Leachon said.

“The only way that we can move the economy is to be transparent with the health data so that we can prevent that from happening through encouragement of civil society,” he added.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/30/deped-confirms-reports-of-learners-personnel-who-tested-positive-for-covid-19/