DepEd to roll out mobile COVID-19 vaccination in schools

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday said it is coordinating with the Department of Health (DOH) to roll out a mobile COVID-19 vaccination in schools in time for the reopening of classes on August 22.

DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa announced this in a press conference, but clarified that COVID-19 vaccination is still not mandatory for students who will be participating in the face-to-face classes.

“‘Yung vaccination is really mandatory by nature. We really respect na voluntary siya so we will not discriminate against any of the students or even teachers and non-teaching staff na ayaw talagang magpabakuna,” he said.

(The vaccination is really mandatory by nature. We really respect that it is voluntary so we will not discriminate against any of the students or even teachers and non-teaching staff who really do not want to be vaccinated.)

Poa also said that Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte has instructed the DepEd regional offices to organize counseling sessions among unvaccinated learners, with the help of DOH regional offices.

“Ang Department of Education ay tuloy-tuloy na nakikipag-ugnayan at ginagawa ang lahat para masigurado na maayos, mapayapa, at ligtas ang ating mga learners sa pagbabalik eskwela,” he said.

(DepEd is continuously communicating and doing everything to ensure that the resumption of classes are orderly, peaceful, and safe for our learners.)

Duterte earlier said that the commingling of children who are vaccinated against COVID-19 and those who are unvaccinated would not be a problem once face-to-face classes resume.

At a Laging Handa briefing, Philippine Federation of Professional Association Vice President III Dr. Benito Atienza said they are now coordinating with various schools so they could help vaccinate children ahead of the resumption of classes.

He also called on the DepEd to coordinate with local government units (LGUs) to ramp up the COVID-19 inoculation among school children.

“Ang importante ngayon ay ang ating healthcare system na kailangan nating palakasin at kailangan nating ituro sa mga bata. Dapat ang DepEd makipag-coordinate sa LGUs lalo na bago pumasok ay sana ang mga kabataan na 5 to 18 [years old] na kasama sa childhood hanggang adolescent ay mabigyan ng bakuna,” he said.

(The important thing now is our healthcare system which we need to strengthen and teach the children. The DepEd should coordinate with the LGUs to vaccinate aged 5 to 18 before they go back to school.)

Enrollees

Further, Poa noted that as of Wednesday, at least 5.6 million learners nationwide are now enrolled for the School Year 2022 to 2023.

Of this number, he said 3.3 million students registered on the first day of enrollment alone which started on Monday, July 25 until August 22.

“Good news naman po. Maganda ang turnout natin this year on the first day of enrollment. Nakapagtala po tayo ng 3.3 million enrollees…noong first day. It is a far cry doon sa naitala natin last year which was only a little bit over 222,000 enrollees,” Poa said.

(The good news is that we had a good turnout this year on the first day of enrollment. We recorded 3.3 million enrollees on the first day. It is a far cry from what we recorded last year which was only a little bit over 222,000 enrollees.)

He said DepEd is looking at 28.6 million enrollees for the upcoming school year.

Non-basic wage benefit

Poa also said that DepEd will be looking into non-basic wage benefits that they can give to teachers amid the calls for salary increase.

“Right now, there are several allowances basically that we are looking into, either overload ng teaching load, all those things. I don’t want to preempt whatever ‘yung pag-aaral na gagawin do’n sa non-basic wage benefits. At least for the immediate ano, that is the thrust. ‘Yun muna ‘yung titignan natin para matugunan ‘yung mga teachers,” he said.

(I don't want to preempt whatever the discussion will be on the non-basic wage benefits. For the meantime, that is the thrust. That's what we'll look at first to help the teachers.)

Poa said Duterte is also planning to upskill the teachers and ease their administrative work. To do so, DepEd is eyeing to hire more non-teaching staff to help the teachers with their tasks. — BM, GMA News