Senator urges gov’t to let private schools join in the pilot run of face-to-face classes

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has urged the government to include private schools to participate in the resumption of face-to-face classes.

I've talked to a lot of private schools and they're ready to invest and ready to open. Let's allow private schools because they have the luxury of space and they’re willing to put in the investment to make their schools safe,

the chairperson of the Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture said.

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Currently, the Department of Education (DepEd) is still in the process of identifying the 20 private schools that would participate in the pilot implementation of the resumption of in-person classes.

Initially the target was 1,200 schools, then it was reduced to 120, 60, now it’s only 30 schools that applied. I think there’s still a lot of fear because the criteria are very strict,

he said.

You need the LGUs (local government units) to agree and the community, stakeholders to agree. There’s still a lot of fear among and LGUs and community members of the school,

he added.

According to Gatchalian, children’s vaccination, which the government has started among those with health risks, will help boost the confidence of parents to bring their kids back to school.

Gatchalian also said that when the country has enough supply of COVID-19 vaccines, he would support mandatory vaccination.

We have to wait until our provinces will get their fair share. I think it will happen around end of November then I will support mandatory vaccination even in public places like shopping mall and other areas,

he said.

As per DepEd and Department of Health guidelines for the pilot implementation of the resumption of face-to-face classes, only fully vaccinated school personnel are allowed to join.