In-person graduation now ‘very possible’ with resumption of face-to-face classes –Briones

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday said face-to-face graduation is now “very possible” with the resumption of in-person classes of about 13,000 schools nationwide, as long as the minimum public standards are maintained.

During a Laging Handa briefing, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said the current guidelines set for face-to-face classes will be adopted during the physical graduation ceremonies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Kung may klase na tayo, may face-to-face na tayo, ang susunod na tanong ay ‘yung graduation. So, ‘yung standards na ini-impose natin, ‘yung expectations at saka guidelines na ini-impose natin for face-to-face, ganun din sa graduation,” she said.

(If we have resumed the in-person classes, the next question is about graduation. So, the standards, expectations, and guidelines that we impose for the graduations will be the same with face-to-face classes.)

“Very possible ang face-to-face graduation dahil may face-to-face tayong classes (the face-to-face graduation is very possible because we already have face-to-face classes),” she added.

Briones stressed it is vital for the number of participating audiences to be limited and the health and safety protocols be complied during the graduation to ensure the safety of the students, teachers, and parents.

In February, DepEd authorized all regional directors to begin the “progressive expansion” phase of face-to-face classes for both public and private schools in areas under Alert Level 2 and below.

With this, only vaccinated teachers may participate in the face-to-face classes, while vaccinated learners are preferred.

The pilot testing of face-to-face classes in the country started in November 2021 for both public and private schools subject to strict health protocols.

Further, Briones noted that there are now about 22,000 schools nationwide that have been nominated to conduct face-to-face classes.

“Karamihan nito ay mga public schools. Ang gusto nating maging focus ng ating kampanya ay ang mga private schools dahil hindi pa sila naka-fully decide kung mag-face-to-face na sila this coming academic year,” she said.

(Most of these are public schools. What we want to focus our campaign on is the private schools because they have not yet fully decided if they will go back to face-to-face classes this coming academic year.)

With the reopening of the schools to physical classes, the Education chief emphasized that DepEd will still not let go of the blended learning to make the students adapt with technology.

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday welcomed the resumption of face-to-face classes by launching its “BIDA Kid” campaign to keep the students safe against the threat of COVID-19.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire then noted that over one million children aged five to 11, and nine million minors aged 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated. They are continuously ramping up the pediatric inoculation to get all students safely back to schools amid the pandemic, she said.—AOL, GMA News