DepEd Undersecretary Jess Mateo said the Department of Education received around 16,000 concerns regarding the first day of public school classes nationwide.
Mates said during the School Opening Day National Program that the majority of the reports are related to enrollment, such as the process for transferring a student from private to a public school.
“Merong tayong higit kumulang mga 16,000 na nalakap simula noong nagbukas tayo. At doon sa 16,000 na ‘yun, close to 90% ang na-resolve natin,” he said.
(We have gathered about 16,000 since we opened. And of those 16,000, we have resolved close to 90%.)
“Maliban doon sa enrollment, ang mga tanong nila tungkol sa learning continuity plan natin,” he added.
(Other than that enrollment, their questions about were our learning continuity plan.)
Mateo added other concerns were about the different learning modalities, such as how to get printed modules, the program for the lessons in broadcast media, and the duration of study sessions.
DepEd was supposed to open the school year 2020-2021 in July, but with the appeal of parents and teachers, President Rodrigo Duterte moved the opening of classes on October 5.
DepEd receives around 16,000 concerns on school opening
The DepEd official said more than 24 million students have so far enrolled in public schools for this school year.
Meanwhile, around 398,000 students from private schools transferred to public schools, Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio.
According to San Antonio, public schools could still accept students even after classes have started on Monday, until the first periodical grading period, which is around the first week of November.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones also urged parents to avail of the late enrollment rather than to totally not attend school amid the pandemic.
“Learning must continue, and education cannot wait. Our children cannot wait. We cannot afford a delay of even 6 months to 1 year of their learning process because we all know that the damage would be incalculable,” said Briones.
Meanwhile, Vice President Leni Robredo urged DepEd anew to consider allowing face-to-face classes in COVID-19 low-risk areas.
In her weekly radio, Robredo shows that some areas with no COVID-19 transmission could conduct in-person classes at least twice per week to teach core competencies like math, science, and reading.