As classes are set to open on August 22 despite the numerous requests of some educators in the country to have it extended for them to be ‘fully-prepared’, Vice President Sara Duterte, in her first order as the education secretary, has mandated all functioning public and private schools all over the Philippines to transition to five days of face-to-face classes beginning on November 2.
The first order was contained in Department of Education (DepEd) Order 34, s. 2022 with the calendar of activities for the upcoming academic year for 2022 to 2023, and was made public on Tuesday, July 12.
“Starting November 2, 2022, all public and private schools shall have transitioned to five days in-person classes. After the said date, no school shall be allowed to implement purely distance learning or blended learning except for those that are implementing Alternative Modes,” the DepEd order read.
Despite the ongoing surge in the Omicron variants in COVID-19 cases, Duterte issued the order.
Apart from the November 2 announcement, the education department also mentioned that the school year 2022-2023 will begin on Monday, August 22, and will conclude on the following year on July 7, 2023.
However, DepEd also reiterated that they will give schools “ample time” to slowly transition into in-person classes by the implementation of either:
1) 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲-𝘁𝗼-𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 – In-person classes, just as how it was implemented two (2) years ago, but with health and safety restrictions.
2) 𝗕𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 – Three days of in-person classes and 2 days of distance learning or wherein students will be having their online classes at home or through asynchronous activities by modular learning;
3) 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 – Students will have the choice to stay at home and attend classes through a virtual setup.
Despite the options, the department would also like to remind such institutions that the options will only be valid until October 31, 2022.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, Education Undersecretary, Epimaco Densing, said that Duterte’s order will be deemed “mandatory,” which means all “enrolled students abide” by the letter.
Aside from the mandate, the order will be implemented regardless of any COVID-19 alert level that will be imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases or all else that will be brought down by the Department of Health (DOH).
Nevertheless, the cancellation or suspension of classes may be brought about by the department.
To recall, over the two years into the pandemic, the Philippines is among the few countries worldwide where schools have not yet fully opened for in-person classes.
With the checking of the DepEd, they have noted that about 80% of the 48,000 public schools and 12,000 private schools in the country have already met their requirement for the upcoming face-to-face classes.
To also remind the public, Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio said on Thursday, July 14, that the Department of Education (DepEd) will not opt to set a class size limit on the resumption of face-to-face classes, but also vowed to continue the use of health protocols such as wearing of face masks and physical distancing inside the classrooms.