DepEd adds 20 private schools in proposed pilot face-to-face classes

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday said it has included 20 private schools to the initial 100 public schools where the proposed pilot testing of face-to-face classes could be conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interviewed on Unang Balita, DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan said DepEd, together with the Department of Health (DOH), will issue joint guidelines for the conduct of pilot face-to-face classes.

“That is almost done na. We will have a pilot face-to-face, subject to the approval of the President, in 100 public schools and additional 20 private schools,” he said.

In a message to reporters on Thursday, Malaluan said the DepEd initially presented to the Senate only 100 schools that will participate in pilot face-to-face classes. However, he said Education Secretary Leonor Briones requested that 20 private schools be added.

Briones' request got the approval of the DOH, Malaluan said.

“This number, higher than the 100 we presented at Senate, was based on request by Secretary Briones for additional allocation for private schools,” he said.

According to Malaluan, no private schools have been identified yet.

Malaluan said the DepEd has yet to present the proposal to President Rodrigo Duterte for the next Cabinet meeting. 

In August, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) urged governments to resume in-person classes, noting that five countries, including the Philippines, have yet to reopen their schools since the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, UNICEF said the right to learn of 27 million Filipino students has been affected by the continued closure of schools due to the pandemic.

UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov said the Philippine schools were fully closed for over a year, while schools globally only for around 79 days in 2020.   —KBK, GMA News