Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto said on Wednesday, May 18, that the gradual return of face-to-face (F2F) learning in schools in Pasig City is "hopefully a sign of better things to come" as schools recuperate from the two years lost to the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the first in-person Stakeholders' Convergence Meeting held at the Kalawaan Elementary School since the pandemic, Sotto acknowledged the tireless efforts of the city's education sector in continuing to provide quality services to the youth.

"Dapat at tama lang na makabalik na tayo . Ngayon po nakikita natin na halos sa bawat batch at bawat paaralan sa lungsod ng Pasig, mayroon ng nag face-to-face. Talagang nakakainspire din na 'yung trabaho natin ay nagbubunga na rin (It is right that we should return to on-site classes. Now, every batch in every school is able to conduct face-to-face classes. It's very inspiring to see the seeds of our hard work bear fruit)," Sotto said.

He saw the opportunity of holding the on-site conference itself as a significant step to engaging partnerships between students, school administrators, teachers, parent-teacher associations, local government representatives, and private entities to address the welfare of schools.

In Kalawaan Elementary School, around 16 students per grade level were participating in the hybrid face-to-face classes.

Though hampered by the pandemic, the local government persisted in utilizing its available budget and resources to programs such as providing food coupons per student in the city, and tablets along with modules to assist them in remote learning.

They also had education staff routinely inspect barangays to document any issues experienced by students, and improvements that can meet their needs.

The re-elected mayor said the local government will continue its existing programs focused on improving the quality of education and health of students.

These include increasing the number of scholars, particularly for the collegiate level through the Pasig City Scholarship Program (PCSP), where eligible students may avail of free tuition in any public or private institution.

In 2021, there were around 20,000 scholars enrolled in the program.

The Malusog na Batang Pasigueño (MBP) for K-12 led by the city's nutrition committee provided food packs complete with basic nutrition requirements to maintain the students' health.

Around 148, 000 students from public schools were beneficiaries of the MBP in 2021.

Capacity-building for teachers and improvements on infrastructure are also on-going.

"Hindi naging madali ang nakaraang dalawang taon. Hindi po magiging madali ang susunod na dalawang taon. Pero basta't nagtutulungan ang bawat isang stakeholder sa bawat paaralan sa lungsod ng Pasig, siguradong mas maliwanag ang kinabukasan ng bawat kabataang Pasigueño (The past two years have not been easy. The next two years will be just as challenging. But as long as each stakeholder in each school in the city of Pasig works together, we will build a brighter future for our youth)," Sotto added.