MANILA –The resumption of face-to-face classes in the country, if ever approved by President Rodrigo Duterte, might be limited to only a few hours at a time, Palace said.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said, it is very unlikely to return to the usual physical classes of around eight hours a day for five days a week since the threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is present.
“Pwede naman one hour per week, three hours per week, basta meron lang pong kombinasyon ng module, ng computer-aided at saka face-to-face kung kinakailanagan makipag-ugnayan sa mga guro,” Roque on Friday.
Education Secretary Leonor Brioner said she will lay down conditions on the possible return of physical classes to Duterte during the scheduled Cabinet meeting on Monday.
Among the conditions set by the Department of Education (DepEd) for the face-to-face classes are approval from the local government units, consent of parents, availability of proper facilities, and safety in transportation.
“Dahil alam naman natin, niri-recognize natin na ang face-to-face aspect ay importanteng bahagi sa blended learning. You cannot talk about blended learning without considering also face-to-face,” Briones said on Thursday.
Citing the result of a survey conducted by DepEd, the secretary said that majority of students and teachers already wanted the resumption of the face-to-face classes. The parents, however, still have reservations.
Briones also cited a report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, which said that Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia that has not resumed the face-to-face classes in schools.
Duterte earlier suspended the pilot testing of face-to-face classes due to a new and more contagious COVID-19 variant, cases of which have been confirmed in some parts of the country.
Various groups have also called on the government to safely reopen schools and conduct face-to-face classes, saying that the current distance learning setup is no longer feasible due to several issues faced by students, parents, and teachers./PN
