MANILA, Philippines — Over 1,000 schools from different regions nationwide have been nominated for the planned face-to-face classes pilot implementation in January next year, the Department of Education said Wednesday.
“So far, ang nireport ng ating mga (DepEd) regional directors last week ay 1,114 schools ang na-nominate out of 61,000 schools,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said in a televised Laging Handa Public Briefing.
Briones bared that the National Capital Region, as well as Davao City and Cotabato, begged off from the January dry run.
But the Education chief said the final list of schools that will participate in the dry run would be “very much lesser” than the initial 1,114 schools as the government will also consider other factors such the consent from local governments and the students’ parents, as well as the schools’ facilities.
“Mamayang hapon mag-meet kami with the (DepEd executive committee) and (management commitee). Ibababa natin iyang listahan na iyan,” Briones said.
The pilot implementation will be conducted in areas deemed low-risk to coronavirus infection from Jan. 11 to 23.
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.