Solon proposes Monday to Wednesday, Thursday to Saturday class shifts next school year

A lawmaker is proposing that classes next school year be held in shifts — from Mondays to Wednesdays and Thursdays to Saturdays —in areas that would still be under quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In a statement ACT CIS party-list Representative Jocelyn Tulfo said the suggestion of UP Resilience Institute executive director Mahar Lagmay to cancel classes until December is "too extreme" and "disruptive." Instead, she said that classes can resume in August instead of the usual June schedule and be held in shifts.

"Some grade levels have classes on Monday to Wednesday, the others have sessions on Thursday to Saturday," she said.

"Sunday shall be the rest day. Ban scheduling of activities on Sundays like ROTC and NSTP. On Sundays, all students should not be at school. On Sundays, schools shall have weekly disinfection in addition to daily disinfection measures," she added.

Tulfo is specifically proposing the following schedule of class shifts:

For Elementary Schools
-Kindergarten to Grade 3: Monday to Wednesday only
-Grade 4 to Grade 6: Thursday to Saturday only

For Junior High Schools
-Grade 7 and Grade 8: Monday to Wednesday only
-Grade 9 and Grade 10: Thursday to Saturday only

For Senior High Schools
-Grade 11: Monday to Wednesday only
-Grade 12: Thursday to Saturday only

For College
-1st Year and 2nd Year: Monday to Wednesday only
-3rd Year, 4th Year, and 5th Year: Thursday to Saturday only

Apart from holding class shifts, Tulfo is also proposing to have a comprehensive health check on all teachers, non-teaching staff, students, parents, and guardians.

"This is needed to make sure there are no carriers and infected among these people who interact around school activities," she said.

A combination of online, televised, radio broadcast, open high, and alternative learning methods may also be applied to augment lessons being done in the classroom, she added.

As of Wednesday, there are a total of 6,710 cases of COVID-19 reported in the Philippines, with 446 deaths and 693 recoveries. —LDF, GMA News