ILOILO City – The West Visayas State University (WVSU) main campus in La Paz district requested the city government to allow it to hold face-to-face classes when the city shifts to the more lenient general community quarantine (GCQ) or modified GCQ.
According to Dr. Joselito Villaruz, WVSU president, part of the requirements of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for a college or university to open health-related programs or courses is to seek permission or clearance from the local government unit (LGU) concerned.
Villaruz explained that a joint memorandum between CHED and the Department of Health (DOH) issued last February would allow the conduct of face-to-face classes in selected programs, particularly those related to health, in areas under the two lighter community quarantine levels.
In the case of WVSU, there are two colleges offering such programs: College of Medicine and College of Nursing.
Iloilo City is currently under a modified enhanced community quarantine.
In preparation for the face-to-face classes, Villaruz and regional officials of CHED already informed Mayor Jerry Treñas of the plan, wherein the latter is affirmative of it.
In fact, according to Villaruz, when the time comes for Iloilo City to be under GCQ or MGCQ, the mayor promised to prioritize medical and nursing students for vaccination.
Villaruz said while vaccination is not mandatory, he and Treñas agreed that it is safer for students to be fully vaccinated before they return to school.
“They assured us that those fully vaccinated will be allowed to attend classes, while the Iloilo City government also pledged to help vaccinate their students,” Treñas said Wednesday.
In particular, the city will inoculate medical and nursing students in the first to third year level.
According to Villaruz, per level, there are about 120 students currently enrolled in the College of Medicine, while 150 students in the College of Nursing.
Villaruz explained that many of these students have already received the anti-coronavirus jabs.
Also, Villaruz did not mention the fourth year medical and nursing students; most of them had already received the vaccine after they were interned at the hospitals.
Meanwhile, aside from getting permission from the city government, Villaruz said they also need to retrofit or make adjustments to the classrooms’ setup where the minimum public health standards, especially social distancing, must be put in place.
Each student must also present a waiver indicating their willingness to return to school for face-to-face classes.
However, while Iloilo City has not yet been subjected to GCQ or MGCQ, Villaruz said the mode of learning of the College of Medicine and College of Nursing will remain flexible.
Meanwhile, Villaruz confirmed that WVSU classes at the college level started two weeks ago.
Flexible learning and other alternative modes are still being practiced.
Villaruz also said that the number of enrollees at WVSU has increased, however, he could not give the specifics./PN
