The Department of Education (DepEd) will not order the removal of plastic barriers in classrooms despite the pronouncement of the Department of Health (DOH) that the face-to face classes can be safely held without them.
“Removal or retention of plastic barriers would really depend on the risk assessment of the school itself. There might be instances that it is needed , there might be instances where it might be superficial. Although we tend to favor more on precautionary measures at this time, especially that our children are affected,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said, in response to the question of the BusinessMirror in a press briefing on Tuesday.
On Monday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said there is no need for plastic barriers in classrooms as long as there is an adequate ventilation and minimal capacity is observed. These, she said, are effective ways to prevent infections during face-to-face classes.
For his part, Dr. Malcolm S. Garma , Assistant Secretary for the National Academy of Sports and Field Operations, said that from the beggining, placing plastic barriers in the classrooms was not really required for the pilot implementation of the face-to-face classes.
“Minsan ito ay kagustuhan ng community, mga magulang, at local government unit.
At this point, hindi naman po maganda na bigla nating ipag -utos na tanggalin lahat ng plastic barrier [Sometimes, this is what the community, parents, and the local government unit wants. At this point, it will not be good to immediately order the removal of plastic barriers],” Garma said adding that plastic barriers gives the parents confidence that their children will be protected against Covid-19 while inside the classroom.
He, however, said that they will not encourage other schools who are not yet participating in the face-to-face classes to put up plastic barriers.
He said that they will also factor in the plastic barrier in their study on the pilot run.
“Let us us see if plastic barriers would be a hindrance to the ventilation, does it affect the hearing of vision of the students as far as their activities inside the classroom are concerned?” Garma added.
Briones agreed to the explanation of Garma.
She said that children, in nature, are really playful.
“Let’s observe if barriers are helpful or not,” Briones said.
Image credits: Searca