The Palace, on Monday, Sept. 13, said that President Rodrigo Duterte had a positive reaction to allowing the return of face-to-face classes.
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Previously, the Department of Education (DepEd) had proposed conducting face-to-face classes in pilot areas with low number of COVID-19 infections but the president has yet to give a decision about it.
Under the DepEd proposal, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that about 150 schools in areas with low risk of infections would participate in the pilot face-to-face classes.
(DepEd) Secretary (Leonor) Briones reported to the president and the president had a positive reaction to the possibility of having a pilot study on a very limited basis,
Roque said.
He added a preparation is being done for the pilot but there is no actual go-signal from the president yet.
Due to the emergence of COVID-19 variants that were highly contagious, President Duterte rejected previous proposals to hold face-to-face classes in low risk areas because it could endanger the safety of students.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Philippines is one of the five countries in the world that have not started face-to-face classes since the pandemic began. As of now, the number decreased to two, with just the Philippines and Venezuela who will yet to reopen classes in September.
It added that the closure of schools have been connected to learning loss, mental distress, missed vaccinations, heightened risk of drop out, child labor, and child marriage.
While new variants are causing a rise of infections, UNICEF is advocating for a phased reopening of schools, beginning in low-risk areas. This can be done on a voluntary basis with proper safety protocols in place,
UNICEF said in a statement.
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