Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is urging the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Health (DOH) to exhaust all measures to protect learners and teachers from Covid-19 as schools nationwide resume five days of face-to-face classes.

Gatchalian said that aside from strictly implementing public health protocols and installing adequate handwashing and sanitation facilities, the DOH and the Department of Education (DepEd) should ensure maximum vaccination coverage among teachers and learners, including and especially those, who are already eligible for their booster shots.

He earlier proposed school-based vaccination to promote the safe return of learners to schools. He also pointed to the persisting challenge of vaccinating learners in the five to 11 age group.

Prior to the opening of School Year 2022-2023, data from the DOH National Vaccination Operations Center showed that as of August this year, only 26.94 percent of children aged five to 11 are fully vaccinated and 76.41 percent of children aged 12 to 17 have been fully vaccinated.

"Matapos ang mahigit dalawang taon ng paghihintay, sa wakas ay masasaksihan na natin ang pagbabalik ng lahat ng mga mag-aaral sa face-to-face classes (After more than two years of waiting, we now see the return of all the learners to face-to-face classes). Kasabay nito, dapat nating tiyakin ang kanilang kaligtasan, pati na ng kanilang mga guro (Additionally, we should ensure their safety, including the teachers). Kaya naman patuloy nating dapat isulong ang pagbabakuna upang matiyak natin na ang ating mga guro at mag-aaral ay ligtas sa kanilang mga paaralan (That is why we should push for the vaccination program to ensure the safety of teachers and learners in their schools),’’ Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.

"Sa pagkakataong ito, nais ko ring pasalamatan ang ating mga guro dahil sa patuloy nilang pagsisikap upang maipagpatuloy natin ang edukasyon (At this point, I want to thank the teachers for their hard work to help th education sector). Hindi natin malalampasan ang mga hamon ng nagdaang taon kung hindi dahil sa kanilang kabayanihan (We were able to surmount the challenges, thanks to their professionalism),” he added.

The lawmaker from Bulacan also pressed the need to implement genuine learning recovery to address learning loss and mitigate the economic scars resulting from the lack of face-to-face learning.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) previously said that the lack of face-to-face classes for one year alone would cost the economy almost P11 trillion in productivity losses over the next 40 years.

To address the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Gatchalian has filed Senate Bill (SB) No. 155 or the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Act which seeks to institute a nationwide program for learning recovery.

The proposed program includes tutorial sessions.