MANILA, Philippines — Private schools may reopen for classes before the public schools, but they should not hold face-to-face classes until Aug. 24, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
Roque also said the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases adopted the basic education learning continuity plan of the Department of Education to start the 2020-2021 school year on Aug. 24 and end on April 30.
Private schools may start classes as early as June “but there should be no face-to-face [classes] until Aug. 24 … All face-to-face classroom instructions in basic education begin Aug. 24,” he said at the televised Laging Handa briefing.
Private schools that want to hold classes earlier than Aug. 24 could do it online or arrange for homeschooling, he added.
When classes begin on Aug. 24, these could be held in classrooms, or through distance learning or home schooling, Roque said.
No school sports
Extracurricular activities have also been canceled. These include school sports, campus journalism and the like, he further said.
Regular school activities are being modified in response to the health crisis over the new coronavirus.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said that authorities should study learn-from-home model practiced in other countries to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Gatchalian, who chairs the basic education committee, said this meant the curriculum would have to be downsized and the most important subjects could be taught via media like TV or radio.
Online learning would also be good, but he said statistics indicated that only 40 percent of students have access to the internet and computers.
This is why there is a need to improve students’ access to technology and the internet in the near future, he added.
He also urged private schools to pursue online learning since many of them have the capacity for it.
They should put off face-to-face classes until they are confident that the local government has the capacity to keep COVID-19 at bay, he added.