Displaced teachers could work as tutors, says DepEd exec

Teachers who would be affected by the reported closure of some private schools due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could work as tutors, a Department of Education (DepEd) official said Friday.

Interviewed on Unang Hirit, DepEd Undersecretary for Planning and Operations Jesus Mateo said the department is now in talks with local governments regarding the hiring of unemployed teachers as tutors.

"Sa kasalukuyan nakikipag-usap nga tayo sa mga lokal na pamahalaan na kung pupuwede ay i-hire sila (teachers) as tutors natin," Mateo said.

He said among the questions in the survey conducted by DepEd on parents in June is on whether students will have adult supervision during the conduct of the distance learning.

"Kung ang sagot po ay walang adult na makakaya na mag-supervise dito, that's where the tutors come in po," Mateo said.

According to the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines (COCOPEA), some 400 private schools employing thousands of workers are at risk of closure due to lack of enrollees amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based on DepEd data, of the 20,220,000 who enrolled for the coming school year,  200,000 to 250,000 are students who transferred to public schools from private schools.

Sans face-to-face classes as a precaution against COVID-19, classes for School Year 2020-2021 will start on August 24.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones earlier said they are now considering to have "limited" face-to-face classes in areas with low risk of COVID-19 infection.

Briones said the limited face-to face classes were discussed with President Rodrigo Duterte and the Cabinet members on Wednesday evening.

Duterte in turn directed DepEd, as well as the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), to submit position papers on the possibility of face-to-face classes in low-risk areas. —KBK, GMA News