CHED, DepEd eye face-to-face classes in low-risk areas

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Department of Education (DepEd) are considering limited face-to-face classes in low-risk areas under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).

CHED Chairman Prospero de Vera said in a meeting with the task force against COVID-19 that there are subjects that need the physical presence of students, such as laboratory and internship that could be moved to the next semester.

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“Only classes that can be conducted through lectures, the theoretical, they can be taught in the first sem,” De Vera said.

“So the options will be from the more open limited face-to-face in low-risk MGCQ areas to the most conservative do it in second semester,” he added.

Meanwhile, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said DepEd is ready to open the school year 2020-2021 on August 24, noting class opening should continue “whatever form it is.”

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“It can be done online or offline, it can be done through radio, television, and if all these are not available, we can tap IBM, or it’s better manual. We will distribute at the school level learning resources. The local governments will distribute them from house to house, and we will recruit what we call para teachers because not all parents can teach,” Briones said.

“So, in summary, many are asking for what they call a limited face-to-face (learning session),” she added.

Also read: Parents teachers group pushes for ‘no vaccine, no classes’

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Briones added other countries in Southeast Asia are implementing blended learning with limited face-to-face interactions. Schools should be prepared to adjust to ensure that the education of learners would continue despite the COVID-19 crisis, she added.

“As early as this month, we are training schools for parents, school for teachers, so they will be ready for whatever arrangement,” Briones said.

De Vera said the Philippines could adapt the system of Thailand, where learners are separated using plastic sheets. A one-meter distance could be observed to prevent the spread of the virus, he added.

Health Secretary Franciso Duque III supported the proposal to conduct limited face-to-face classes in low-risk areas.

“So all of these really favor their (DepEd and CHED) proposition. The ten students per classroom that they mentioned is aligned with what we call physical distancing as part of the engineering controls,” Duque said.