Grade 3 students return to the Owaog Nebloc Elementary School in Botolan, Zambales, during the pilot run of the in-person classes. (Photo by Joanna Rose Aglibot)
BOTOLAN, Zambales––Fully vaccinated teachers and school staff greeted the pupils, who returned to the Owaog Nebloc Elementary School at the remote Barangay Baytan in this town during the pilot in-person classes in selected areas in the country.
Only nine of the 21 expected Kinder and Grade 3 students made it to the first day of the face-to-face classes at the upland school in an Aeta community here, said school principal Charles Fernan.
In an interview, Fernan said the school enforced all Department of Education health protocols. These include putting up a triage, a washing area, a temperature station, and an isolation area.
Fernan said the children were given masks as they entered the school premises.
He said some students had to walk for about four hours to reach the school, which prevented other pupils from attending the first day of classes.
“There are some parents who failed to take their children here today because of the long distance they have to travel. But they said they would be coming here tomorrow,” Fernan said.