Aug. 24 school opening will push through unless Congress moves the date — Roque

The opening of classes will push through as scheduled on August 24, 2020 unless Congress passes a measure moving the date, according to a Palace official.

“As far as the actual date of classes, may batas po iyan (there is a law on that),” Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said during a Palace press briefing Monday.

“We have to comply with the law which is the last week of August unless Congress will pass a law providing that we could open on a later date,” he said.

Vice President Leni Robredo had earlier backed the proposal to delay the opening of classes in August to a later date since some teachers were not ready for the distance learning method. Robredo reportedly met with teachers who were seeking the deferment of the class opening to give them more time to make the preparations.

The Department of Education earlier announced that classes in basic education will begin on August 24, 2020 and end on April 30, 2012.

Blended learning, that includes online classes and distance learning, will be implemented in lieu of faceto-face classes for the health and safety of students amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Under Republic Act No. 7797 that lengthened the school calendar from 200 class days to not more than 220 days, the school year must start on the first Monday of June but not later than the last day of August.

President Duterte had earlier opposed the resumption of face-to-face classes until a coronavirus vaccine is made available. He said it was useless to talk about the resumption of physical classes unless the safety of the students is guaranteed.

Duterte also promised to look for funds to purchase transistor radios that can be used for the learning of students living in far-flung provinces.