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DepEd mulls gradual return to face-to-face classes in 2021

By LLANESCA T. PANTI,GMA News

The Department of Education (DepEd) is studying the possibility of a gradual return to face-to-face classes in 2021, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said Tuesday.

Briones made the response since at least three vaccines by manufacturers in the United States and the United Kingdom - Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca - announced that their vaccines are at least 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 after human trials.

“Definitely, not this year [ang resumption ng face-to-face classes]. Definitely not until the President makes the announcement, but we are preparing a report to the President based on the current experience,” Briones said.

“Klaro naman na ang magkakaroon lang ng face-to-face classes sa areas which are absolutely in safe conditions. Iyang [resumption ng] face-to-face clases, hindi sabay-sabay ‘yan. It will be very selective and it will not happen this year,” Briones added.

The safe areas for face-to-face classes, Briones said, will be identified by the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force which is the government’s policy-making body on the COVID-19 response, since these two entities assess the health situation of the different areas in the country.

“Depende [talaga sa sitwasyon] ang approach kasi depende rin sa number of students,” Briones said.

Classes remotely opened last October 5, later than the initially planned August 24 to give more time for teachers and students to prepare for online and modular distance learning setups amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Online learning requires a gadget and a stable internet connection, while the modular distance learning method provides printed materials to students called modules which they are required to study and answer corresponding assessment tests weekly.

Academic ease

Likewise, Briones said that the academic calendar for school year 2020 to 2021 is likely to be revised again amid the COVID-19 pandemic in light of the series of typhoons that ravaged the country.

“Every year naman, may disaster, natural or otherwise, kaya handa ang kagawaran. Sanay na kami. Tinitignan namin ang calendar at i-aadjust iyon kung kelan ang make up classes,” Briones said.

“Iyong call for academic ease is reasonable para hindi mahirapan ang mga estudyante at guro, kaya we will make adjustments along those lines,” Briones added.

Based on DepEd records, there are 800,000 DepEd employees, including the teachers, and 27 million students in basic and secondary education. — DVM, GMA News