Directive for face-to-face classes by November stays, says VP Duterte

FILE PHOTO: A kindergarten pupil hugs teacher Nadinne Antaran as pilot face-to-face classes at Aurora Quezon Elementary School in San Andres, Manila, resumes on February 9, 2022, after a halt amid surge of COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant. INQUIRER / RICHARD A. REYES

DAVAO CITY — The Department of Education (DepEd) is still committed to holding all classes in a face-to-face mode in November despite calls to still adopt blended learning as a precaution against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said in a statement that DepEd would still pursue the “five-day in-person classes by November.”

In a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Duterte asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. about the “possibility of the institutionalization of a blended learning mode of instruction and should the Department prepare for it.”

“The President agreed that a plan should be made (on blended learning mode) with a caveat that face-to-face classes shall be the priority and blended modality shall be considered only in specific schools and areas with special circumstances,” she said, adding that DepEd will prepare the plan that will be reviewed by the President.

“No details are forthcoming anytime soon,” she added.

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