The Department of Education said Tuesday it would follow a recent Palace order on the voluntary use of face masks in indoor spaces, effectively allowing students to remove their masks while attending in-person classes.
“We will follow [Executive Order No.] 7 and issue an amendatory [department order],” DepEd Spokesman Michael Poa said in response to a query on masking in classrooms.
“Schools may immediately implement optional masking indoors,” he added.
Meanwhile, the five-day full face-to-face classes in public schools will push through today, November 2, despite the DepEd acknowledging there is still a shortage of classrooms and teachers.
Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Poa admitted to the perennial problems that several schools face a day before the implementation of full in-person classes.
“We have to admit, and we cannot deny that there is a shortage of classrooms and school buildings. That is something that, of course, we couldn’t solve overnight,” he said.
“We also have a shortage of teachers. What we do is we transfer teachers from other schools to those that are in need, subject to the rules on transfer,” the spokesman added.
As this developed, Senator Win Gatchalian is urging the DepEd and Department of Health (DOH) to exhaust all measures to protect learners and teachers from COVID-19.
Gatchalian called on the DOH and the DepEd to ensure maximum vaccination coverage among teachers and learners, including and especially those, who are already eligible for their booster shots.
Earlier, the senator proposed school-based vaccination to promote the safe return of learners to schools.
He also pointed to the persisting challenge of vaccinating learners in the 5 to 11 age group.
Last week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the voluntary use of face masks in both indoor and outdoor areas despite the continued threat of COVID-19.
Under the order, the use of face masks will remain mandatory in healthcare facilities, medical transport vehicles, and all forms of public transportation.
Mask-wearing is also encouraged for the elderly, individuals with comorbidities, immunocompromised persons, pregnant women, unvaccinated individuals, and those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
The DepEd earlier ordered all public schools to return to full in-person classes from Wednesday following over two years of distance and blended learning due to the pandemic.
But the agency will allow a few exemptions, including schools that were recently affected by disasters.
“Exemptions are [also] within the authority of the regional directors,” Poa told reporters.
The DepEd has refused to release data on COVID-19 cases in schools, leaving it up to local governments to publicize such figures.
Poa said the department, currently headed by Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, will “try to work on it” in the coming months and years.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on Monday said the DepEd and the Marcos administration did not do their assignments before the start of the full in-person classes, as some public schools are still unprepared after two years of online and blended learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
ACT renewed teachers’ call for adequate classrooms and armchairs, more support personnel, and a reduced workload. They also called for cutting the number of students per class to 35 students and for more learning and teaching resources such as laptops and internet allowance.
To work around some of these concerns, Poa said that highly congested schools like those in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Calabarzon would still have to implement shifting of class schedules to cater to all their students.
He reiterated that DepEd was also looking to hire around 10,000 teachers for the next school year.
Taking all these into consideration, Poa said the mandatory five-day face-to-face classes will still go on as planned on Wednesday, except for schools that appealed for an exemption for valid reasons.
“Except for those affected by the typhoon, some are requesting not to push through with the face-to-face classes. Those requests are given to the regional directors because they have the authority to exempt, depending on the situation,” he said.
ACT also previously called on DepEd to reveal the number of public schools appealing to be exempted from the five-day face-to-face classes starting November 2.
They said they received reports there are schools, particularly in the NCR and other urban areas, that wish to be exempted as “their facilities and human resources simply cannot make it happen.”
Poa said they are still consolidating data from their regional offices on how many schools requested an exemption.
DO 44 allowed private schools to continue holding either five-day face-to-face classes, a blended learning modality, or full distance learning starting November 2.
Public schools, meanwhile, must proceed with the full implementation of in-person classes, except for those that are expressly provided an
exemption by the Regional Director, those whose classes are automatically canceled due to disasters and calamities, and those implementing Alternative Delivery Modes.