Thousands of children were allowed to return to classrooms Monday for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a pilot re-opening of schools got under way.
While nearly every country in the world has already partially or fully re-opened their schools to face-to-face learning, the Philippines has kept them closed since March 2020.
Kindergarten teacher Zyrex Damayo said he was “a bit nervous” as he greeted eight of his students at the Siocon Elementary School in Bogo city in the central island province of Cebu.
“I was expecting some of them to cry… (but) it went smoothly and we did not have any problems,” Damayo said.
“They were quiet — they’re still a bit shy.”
A hundred public schools out of more than 61,000 have been selected for the two-month trial, which is expected to be expanded in the coming weeks, education officials said.
Many of the schools are located in remote, mountainous or island communities considered to be low risk for virus transmission.
“I cannot guarantee that this will be 100 percent successful, but in our assessment, we have high hopes that this pilot will be a success,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said last week.
Students in kindergarten, grades one to three, and senior high school are eligible to take part in the trial.
Class sizes are capped and time in the classroom limited, with strict rules on mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing.
A “blended learning” program, which involves online classes, printed materials and lessons broadcast on television and social media, will continue.
Schools in the National Capital Region also have been pushing to resume face-to-face lessons, but so far they have not received the green light.
Oliver Sanchez, principal of Filemon T. Lizan Senior High School in Navotas City, said most parents wanted their children back in the classroom.
“I think they got tired of teaching their children,” Sanchez said.
The Department of Education (DepEd) has yet to pick a school in Metro Manila where face-to-face classes can be pilot-tested, Assistant Secretary Malcolm Garma said. Willie Casas with AFP
Garma said they aim to have one school in every Metro Manila area to be included in the pilot run of face-to-face classes, which started in several areas on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021.
Nearly 30 percent of the country’s 110 million people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, though the rate is almost 70 percent in the capital Manila.
Authorities began rolling out jabs for children as young as 12 this month.
The Philippines has recorded more than 2.8 million infections since the start of the pandemic, but the daily case rate has fallen dramatically in recent weeks.
There have been growing calls from the UN’s Children Fund and many teachers for a return to in-person learning amid concerns the prolonged closure was exacerbating an education crisis in the country.
Fifteen-year-olds in the Philippines were at or near the bottom in reading, mathematics, and science, according to data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Most students attend public schools where large class sizes, outdated teaching methods, lack of investment in basic infrastructure such as toilets, and poverty have been blamed for youngsters lagging behind.
On Monday, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairman Prospero deVera III said limited face-to-face classes of higher education institutions in areas under Alert Level 2 could begin this December.
“We are targeting initially all regions under Alert Level 2 to start by December and by January all regions under Alert Level 3. This is the proposal that we have submitted to the IATF,” De Vera told the House committee on higher and technical education.
He said many of the schools will do it at the start of the second semester because they can no longer change what they are teaching as the first semester is already ending.
De Vera said it would be the schools which will decide if they are prepared to conduct face-to-face classes.
“If they are ready, we can inspect them even tomorrow. That’s why we are holding town meetings in the different universities so we will know who are ready and can be inspected. So it’s not the CHED who will decide when it will start. It is the schools who will decide whether they’re ready,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
De Vera said the schools would operate at 50 percent capacity.
He added that only schools in areas under Alert Level 2 may apply to be allowed to conduct face-to-face classes, but priority will be given to those who already have the authority to do so.
In other developments:
* Senator Sherwin Gatchalian hailed the start of the pilot run for limited face-to-face classes in basic education but emphasized the need to ensure that mitigation measures are strictly enforced to prevent COVID-19 transmission in schools.
* The Department of Health said the effectiveness of plastic barriers used in classrooms to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 will depend on how they are implemented. Some schools use acrylic barriers, which may be more appropriate, said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire. Others which are just plastic sheets would be less effective, she added. With AFP