Health break, finally? DepEd officially suspends classes in public schools in Metro Manila from Jan. 15 to 22

A teacher answers a call from a student in need of assistance on distance learning through a hotline program, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines, October 7, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday suspended classes in Metro Manila public schools from January 15 to 22 amid the teachers’ request for a health break following the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the region.

In a memorandum addressed to the schools division superintendents of NCR, DepEd said classes shall be suspended staring January 15 and shall resume on January 24.

“To ease the health burden caused by the surge of COVID-19 cases to the physical and mental well-being of the school personnel and learners, the DepEd – National Capital Region suspends the conduct of classes starting January 15, 2022 and on Monday, January 17 until Saturday, January 22, 2022 and shall resume on January 24 to 29 on purely asynchronous distance learning modalities,” DepEd said.

“For the duration of the suspension of classes, it is expected that physical reporting of teachers will be not required by the school heads,” it added.

DepEd said the mid-year break scheduled on January 31 to February 5 shall be utilized by the learners to comply with backlogs in learning outputs while teachers are expected to attend to their usual activities including in-service training and other learning-related undertakings.

Further, DepEd said the second quarter examinations shall be conducted on February 7 to 8 while submission of learning outputs by the students is scheduled on February 7 to 12 using online platforms and other mechanisms.

“The lost contact days shall be compensated by mechanisms such as independent study, remediation, enhancement activities and other related teaching-learning interactions,” DepEd said.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on Tuesday called for a two-week “health break” after a survey found that more than 50 percent of teachers in Metro Manila have flu-like symptoms.

ACT General Secretary Raymond Basilio said many of the teachers have been sick since January 1, and the survey conducted by ACT-Metro Manila chapter supports this claim.

But while the DepEd decided to allow its local officials to declare class suspension in COVID-19 stricken, the teachers’ group said the urgency of the situation required prompt action from no less than the higher echelons of the department.

On Thursday, Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso declared a week-long “health break” for students and teachers amid the uptick of COVID-19 cases in the city.

EDV