AS the pilot run of the face-to-face (F-to-F) classes of the additional 117 schools, including 28 from the National Capital Region (NCR), started on Monday, an official of the Department of Education (DepEd) assured that they are constantly coordinating with the Department of Health (DOH) amid the reported creeping spread of Covid-19 Omicron variant in other countries.
“Our existing protocols are sufficient based on [the] existing situation,” DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan, said adding that if there would be changes, “we anticipate that it will figure in the alert level system or change in the health and safety standards.”
The DepEd said that over 2,000 learners joined Monday’s pilot run.
In the NCR, 28 public schools—two in each cities of Manila, Caloocan, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasig, Taguig, Valenzuela, Las Piñas, and Quezon City.
The cities of San Juan, Pasay, Malabon, and Makati will have one school each.
The 117 schools are on top of the 118 schools, which joined the pilot run in November.
In San Juan City, Mayor Francis Zamora said that the pilot run in Pedro Cruz Elementary School included students from Kinder to Grade 3 who were given consent by their parents to go back to in person classes again. The students were chosen based on a survey ran by the school administration.
Zamora said that Pedro Cruz Elementary School was chosen because it is one of the schools that was tagged as “low-risk” by DepEd.
“This is a huge progress from where we were last year. Online schooling can only do so much, even if we have provided all our students with tablets, laptops, and internet connection, I believe that the children can learn better when they are guided physically by their teachers,” Zamora said. “Some lessons can get lost in translation and not all kids may have a conducive learning environment at home,” he added.
To ensure the students’ safety, classes will only last for 3 hours for Kinder, and four hours for grades 1 to 3. There will also be a 15-minute interval for students to enter the school premises to prevent crowding at the school gate.
Minimum public health and safety protocols were strictly observed. Children were seated at a safe distance from each other and were required to wear face masks at all times and to wash and sanitize their hands if needed.
Based on the partial result of the weekly school reporting on the limited F-to-F classes as of November 24, there were 4,537 learners in Kinder to Grade 3 and Grade 11 to 12 who attended the first week of the pilot run.