100 public and 20 private schools included in pilot face-to-face classes

The Department of Education (DepEd) hopes that the list of private and public schools that will participate in pilot face-to-face classes in November will be completed this week.

DepEd targets to get 100 public schools and 20 private schools for the dry run of physical classes.

ADVERTISEMENT

At the press conference of the Council for the Welfare of Children, DepEd Dir Roger Masapol said that most of the school personnel who will participate in face-to-face classes have also been vaccinated, and others have already received the first dose.

“Right now po, nakapili na po tayo ng 90 public schools, based sa recommendation ng DOH. At sa kasalukuyan po, pinipili na po ang mga magpa-participate na 20 private schools sa bansa,” said Masapol.

“So hopefully po, within the week, ma-complete natin iyong 100 na public school at 20 private school na magsisimula,” he added.

ADVERTISEMENT

According to DepEd’s lawyer Rhoan Orebia, the in-person pilot classes will show how to restore the interaction between children and their classmates and their teacher, which is one of the goals of having physical classes.

But he explained that adherence to health protocols is still the priority even if we allow interaction with each other, especially physical distancing and adherence to the set class hours per day.

“That’s still subject of the pilot study, eventually, what would be our set-up if we already have full implementation of the pilot face-to-face, limited learning modality. Pero kasama po iyan sa considerations,” said Orebia.

ADVERTISEMENT

100 public and 20 private schools included in pilot face-to-face classes

“Iyong sine-secure po natin, iyong protocol, iyong safety and health po ng ating learners. So definitely, iyong social distancing will be observed,” the lawyer added.

Class hours have also been reduced compared to pre-pandemic face-to-face classes.

“[Nasa] 4.5 hours lang po iyong maximum for senior high school, and for the elementary, mga 3 hours lang po.”

On Monday, DepEd released the list of 90 public schools that will participate in face-to-face classes while evaluating private schools continues.

No school from the National Capital Region will participate in the pilot testing.

On Nov. 15, pilot face-to-face classes will begin in public schools, while private schools will start on Nov 22. It will last until Jan. 31, 2022.

Only Kindergarten through Grade 3 and Senior High School students are included in the pilot test based on the guidelines.

Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.