DepEd, DOH assure ‘health and safety’ of leaners, personnel on pilot run of face-to-face classes

The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Health (DOH) have identified mechanisms to guarantee the safety of learners, teaching and non-teaching staff, and their families who will participate in the pilot implementation of limited face-to-face classes in select COVID-19 low-risk areas across the country.

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After passing the School Readiness Assessment by DepEd and their local governments, it said that a maximum of 120 schools nationwide, prioritizing Key Stage 1 learners (Kinder to Grade 3), will participate.

The DepEd and DOH works hand-in-hand in crafting the operational guideline on the pilot implementation of face-to-face learning as they recognize the need to safely reopen schools.

Our utmost priority is the health and safety of our learners and teachers while ensuring that learning happens and learning gaps are addressed. We have been proactive in planning for safe return to schools. The operational guideline for the pilot run of face-to-face classes is a product of our collaboration with DOH, in consultation with various stakeholders, including child health experts. This will only be applicable for the schools that passed the strict vetting process by DepEd and DOH, and have the support of their respective local government units,

Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said.

She added that the pilot will feature a combined implementation of face-to-face classes and distance learning.

DepEd said that the guideline sets standards on the readiness of schools for re-opening. It implements the Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat, and Reintegrate framework highlighting the importance of availability of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, proper ventilation in classrooms, ensuring that classroom layouts enable physical distancing between persons, prioritization of students who will benefit most from limited face-to-face learning modality, management of foot traffic, and conduct of simulation activities prior to implementation of the pilot, and others.

We want to ensure that we provide safe learning spaces for children during this pandemic. The pilot run will be a shared responsibility among DOH, DepEd and local government units to ensure that mechanisms are in place from prevention of COVID-19 infection to reintegration of recovered patients. It is also a shared responsibility among school management, teachers, and families for ensuring that all minimum public health standards are observed and possible COVID-19 cases are detected early through regular symptoms screening and reporting,

said Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III.

DepEd also said that it drafted a contingency plan with recommended actions for different scenarios. The scenarios range from where there is a suspected case presenting symptoms, to a scenario where there is resurgence of COVID-19 cases in multiple barangays. This sets the policy on when schools should impose a lockdown.

According to Briones, those who will be involved in the pilot run will be oriented by DOH and other local partners. The agencies will also coordinate with them regarding the prioritization of their vaccination in case the participating teachers and other non-teaching personnel haven’t completed their vaccines yet. This is to follow the agreement between the departments that teachers who will join the pilot implementation should be vaccinated against COVID-19 first.

We are committed to providing additional protection for our teachers through vaccination. While vaccination is not mandatory, classroom learning will be limited to vaccinated teaching personnel. So as not to disenfranchise unvaccinated teachers, they may teach using distance or online modules. This also presents options for parents who are still hesitant to send their children to school,

Sec. Duque said.

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