With COVID-19 vaccine in sight, DepEd eyes limited face-to-face classes in ‘safe’ areas

Education Secretary Leonor Briones. PRESIDENTIAL FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines —The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday said it is looking at the possibility of holding limited face-to-face classes in “safe areas” following the recent developments on the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We are studying that possibility but definitely, not this year. Definitely, not until the President makes a pronouncement,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said in an online Palace briefing.

Briones said DepEd is already readying a report for President Rodrigo Duterte on distance learning currently being implemented.

“Klaro naman kung magkaroon ng face-to-face [classes], it will be very limited to areas which are absolutely safe. There will be conditions from the Department of Health (DOH), there will also be conditions coming from us. It will not be, lahat lahat, sabay sabay na mag face-to-face [classes], no,” she explained.

(It’s clear that if there will be face-to-face [classes], it will be very limited to areas which are absolutely safe. There will be conditions from the Department of Health, there will also be conditions coming from us. It will not happen altogether, no.)

Asked if DepEd will push for physical classes by 2021, Briones said it will depend on the health situation in areas to be assessed by the DOH and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

“If there are areas where it’s safe and will get clearance from the Department of Health and the IATF, kasi sila ang nag-a-assess ng health situation, at saka depende sa approach yan kasi yung number of students, etc. We are now looking into that but ulitin ko, definitely not this year,” Briones said.

(If there are areas where it’s safe and will get clearance from the Department of Health and the IATF because they are the ones assessing the health situation and it depends on the approach in terms of the number of students. We are now looking into that, but I will repeat, definitely not this year.)

Due to the pandemic, DepEd implemented distance learning where learning modules, television, radio and the internet are utilized as media of instruction.

JPV