ILOILO – Full face-to-face (F2F) classes in Western Visayas’ public schools kicked off on Tuesday, Nov. 2, but not in some schools affected by Severe Tropical Storm “Paeng”.
According to Department of Education (DepEd) Region 6 information officer Hernani Escullar Jr., some schools have no classes yet based on the pronouncement of their respective local government units.
He cited, for instance, those in storm-battered Antique province where Gov. Rhodora Cadiao issued an executive order suspending classes in all levels effective Nov. 2. Classes resume on Nov. 7. Some schools are still being used as temporary evacuation sites.
Other affected schools in the region, Escullar said, are temporarily sticking to blended or modular learning.
A total of 1,156 schools in the region were affected by “Paeng”, data from DepEd-6’s Curriculum and Learning Management Division showed.
Of these, 420 were in Aklan, 534 in Antique, 100 in Negros Occidental, 63 in Capiz, 38 in Iloilo, six in Iloilo City, and one in Roxas City.
In Aklan, schools utilize both modular learning and full in-person classes effective Nov. 2 because they are deemed safe for learners, said Escullar.
In the provinces of Capiz and Negros Occidental, which were also hit by the typhoon, schools also started full in-persons classes while in Iloilo province, schools implement either modular, blended or face-to-face learning.
In Iloilo City, Escullar said modular and blended modes of learning are being implemented, too, while in Roxas City, some schools observe distant, blended, modular, and online modes of learning until they are assessed as already ready for in-person classes.
There are a total of 4,048 public schools in Western Visayas.
DepEd said, even before the start of the full implementation of in-person classes in the region on Nov. 2, there were already around 2,051 schools which already implemented the F2F classes ahead./PN
