Students struggle during first week of in-person classes

YES, MA’AM! Grade school students at Longos Elementary School in Alaminos City in Pangasinan province attend the first day of the pilot run of in-person classes nationwide. —PHOTO courtesy of Alaminos Public Information Office

MANILA, Philippines — With masks on and physical distancing in place, some students from selected public schools found the first week of limited in-person classes challenging.

Based on the Department of Education’s (DepEd) assessment, 18 out of 56 schools that submitted their weekly report said that learners could not clearly hear what the teachers were saying because of the face mask.

Meanwhile, 17 schools said that students could not clearly see what was written on the board because of physical distancing.

Teachers from some schools also cited the limited time to attend to students’ concerns and multiple attention required to cater to learners both in physical classes and those using modules.

Assistant Education Secretary Malcolm Garma said at a press briefing on Tuesday that in ensuring safe school operations, learners, especially those in Kindergarten, tend to remove their masks after a short period of time while some don’t stay in their seats.

Despite the challenges, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that generally, the teachers, parents, and local governments were happy with the restoration of in-person classes.

‘Challenges’

“If you proportion these [reported] challenges to more than 1,000 teachers who gave their feedback, it’s not that big,” she said.

Briones added that the joy of the stakeholders was overwhelming as compared to the hesitance in holding the in-person classes.

‘Never a walk in the park’

Evelyn Fetalvero, regional director for Eastern Visayas of DepEd, said the first week of the limited in-person classes in their pilot schools was generally successful.

“Our journey in ensuring learning continuity amid the deadly pandemic was never a walk in the park … but with the strong support of everyone, we did not feel alone,” she said.

Meanwhile, the reopening of schools in the Metro Manil would depend on the risk assessment and willingness of local chief executives, Briones said.

The education secretary said that there were some mayors from Metro Manila who were still hesitant about the resumption of limited in-person classes.