MANILA – The Department of Education’s proposed pilot testing for the face-to-face classes in areas which have low cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection has been rejected by President Rodrigo Duterte for the second time.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte will likely to approve the dry run of in-person classes after the launch of COVID-19 vaccination drive.
“Nagdesisyon na po ang Presidente, wala pa rin po tayong face-to-face classes sa bansa,” Roque said on Monday.
“Ayaw niyang malagay sa panganib o alanganin ang buhay ng ating mga mag-aaral o guro habang wala pa pong nababakunahan sa bansa,” he added.
The rejection was a huge blow to DepEd after it said last week that Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia that has yet to hold the face-to-face classes.
Roque, however, said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases will review if face-to-face classes are possible by August.
“Sabi niya (Duterte), may awa ang Panginoon, baka naman po pagkatapos nating malunsad ang ating vaccination program, e pupuwede na tayong mag-face-to-face sa Agosto, lalong-lalo na sa mga lugar na mababa ang COVID-19 cases,” said Roque.
DepEd was supposed to hold a pilot testing of limited in-person classes in low-risk areas last month but Duterte postponed it due to fear of the new COVID-19 variant.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones made the proposal for the resumption of face-to-face classes following their survey which showed “more than 50 percent” of students were in favor of attending in-person classes.
Briones added that a “significant portion” of teachers wanted to hold limited in person classes./PN
