MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte approved the conduct of a dry run of face-to-face classes in select schools in areas deemed low-risk to SARS-CoV-2 transmission for the whole month of January 2021.
According to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, Duterte approved the proposal of the Department of Education (DepEd) during Monday’s Cabinet meeting.
It’s not yet clear, however, exactly when in January the dry run will start.
The DepEd will be tasked to coordinate with the National Task Force against COVID-19 for the monitoring of the conduct of the face-to-face classes dry run.
“The pilot shall be done under strict health and safety measures, and where there is a commitment for shared responsibility among DepEd, local government units, and parents,” Roque said.
Roque noted that the face-to-face classes dry run will not be compulsory on the part of the learner/parents.
A parent’s permit will be needed for a student to participate in the pilot implementation, the Palace official said.
Classes resumed nationwide on Oct. 5 with schools utilizing distance learning modality— a combination of online and modular learning—as campuses stay closed and physical classes remain suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 is a respiratory ailment caused by the new variant of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.