Care and caution for school opening

The pandemic is not over and mothers are worried.

On 12 July, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte ordered all Philippine public and private schools to hold five days of face-to-face classes starting 2 November.

The directive was contained in Department of Education (DepEd) Order 34, s. 2022:

“Starting 2 November 2022, all public and private schools shall have transitioned to five days in-person classes. After the said date, no school shall be allowed to implement purely distance learning or blended learning except for those that are implementing Alternative Modes.”

To give sufficient time to hold in-person classes, schools are allowed any of the following options:

· Five days of face-to-face classes;

· Blended learning;

· Three days of in-person classes and two days of distance learning, or four days of in-person classes and one day of distance learning; or

· Full distance learning.

These options may be implemented until 31 October, DepEd said.

But the reasons mothers feel uneasy about the return

Reasons mothers feel uneasy about the return of face-to-face classes are the lack of preparedness among their children, as well as the failure to comply with physical distancing.

“The virus won’t go away soon, but school authorities must do their part to shepherd their wards back to campus with all the necessary precautions and measures.

of face-to-face classes are the lack of preparedness among their children, as well as the failure to comply with physical distancing by teachers and students during the pilot implementation of face-to-face classes.

Meanwhile, at a recent Senate hearing, DepEd Assistant Secretary Malcolm Garma said the agency identified limited time to accommodate all students’ concerns, and the limited teaching and learning resources, as two problems encountered during the trial in-person classes.

A third problem is the lack of preparedness of Kindergarten and Grade 1 pupils who have not attended school due to the closures caused by Covid-19.

In addition, and this is perhaps the most challenging, students and teachers cannot fully comply with the standard health protocols imposed by the government, including the wearing of masks and face shields, as well as the physical distancing.

Another difficulty encountered was the difficulty of the teachers and students to hear each other due to the “muffled effect” while wearing masks.

The question now is: Will face-to-face classes be mandatory for all students? Or can students choose not to follow the DepEd order if their parents feel it’s not safe at this point amid another surge in Covid cases?

As it stands, the DepEd order is enforceable “regardless of the Covid-19 alert level imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases or the Department of Health in areas where schools are located,” said DepEd Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III.

In the event of a surge in cases, Densing said that the pandemic task force could recommend to DepEd the suspension of classes.

More than two years into the pandemic, the Philippines is among a handful of countries worldwide where schools have yet to fully open for face-to-face classes.

According to DepEd, as of 22 April, only 25,786 schools have been holding in-person classes.

There are approximately 60,000 public and private schools in the country.

DepEd said 80 percent of the 48,000 public schools and 12,000 private schools in the country have fulfilled their requirements for face-to-face classes.

Should mothers be really worried that this is not yet the time for their kids to return physically to school? If the problems heard at the Senate hearing are not addressed, the answer is yes.

But the more compelling reason to consider Duterte’s directive is the observation that comprehensive learning suffers during online classes.

The virus won’t go away soon, but school authorities must do their part to shepherd their wards back to campus with all the necessary precautions and measures.