Face-to-face classes in Navotas. Navoteño Ako-Navotas City PIO
MANILA, Philippines — Starting November 2, public and private schools all over the country must transition to five days of in-person classes, as ordered by Education Secretary Vice President Sara Duterte.
This was contained in Department of Education (DepEd) Order 34, s. 2022, Duterte’s first order as education chief, which was made public on Tuesday.
“Starting November 2, 2022, all public and private schools shall have transitioned to five days in-person classes. After the said date, no school shall be allowed to implement purely distance learning or blended learning except for those that are implementing Alternative Modes,” the order read.
The order also stated that the school year 2022-2023 will begin on Monday, August 22, and end on July 7, 2023.
READ: School year 2022-2023 to start August 22 — DepEd
In the order, the DepEd said it will give schools “ample time to slowly transition” into the five-day in-person classes by implementing any of the following options:
-Five days of face-to-face classes
-Blended learning: Three days of in-person classes and 2 days of distance learning, or 4 days of in-person classes and 1 day of distance learning
-Full distance learning
These options will only be implemented by schools until October 21, 2022, DepEd said.
Mandatory
In a press briefing on Tuesday, DepEd Undersecretary Epimaco Densing said the return to a five-day face-to-face class is mandatory, and “everybody who’s enrolled should abide” and parents are encouraged to ensure that their students go to school.
“We’re trying to do some educational learning recovery because in the past two years, because of the COVID-19, the face-to-face classes are something we were not able to do,” he said.
“So this is the right time for us to undertake it,” Densing added.
According to the department order, no inspections, tools, or any additional requirements are needed for schools to implement the five-day in-person classes, except for the compliance with the usual pre-pandemic regulatory permits and licenses, as required by law or ordinance.
The order will also apply to all schools regardless of COVID-19 alert levels in their respective areas.
If, however, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases recommends stopping face-to-face learning in case of a surge of COVID-19 cases, Densing said DepEd will follow.
Regional DepEd directors are likewise tasked to determine the guidelines to ensure social distancing within the classroom is followed.
The order to shift to face-to-face classes was issued amid the rise in COVID-19 cases in the country.
Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed support to the initiative of DepEd to resume full in-person classes by November even as the number of cases steadily increased since June.
Marcos said Duterte relayed during their first Cabinet meeting in Malacañang her department’s plan for a gradual resumption of in-person classes for the school year 2022-2023 until full capacity is reached after three months.