By Aura Sison

The Planning Phase

Last July, Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sara Duterte expressed the intent to address the learning loss among learners during the pandemic by requiring full face-to-face classes starting November 2, 2022. 

Through signing the DepEd Order 034, Duterte mandated both public and private schools to prepare for this transition only until October 31. 

However, several appeals and concerns against this order were raised by public schools, UNICEF, and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, citing lack of facilities and human resources, as well as recent disasters and calamities that may make the shift difficult. 

Following these concerns, Duterte issued DepEd Order No. 044 last October 17, amending the previous order, to permit private schools to continue the use of blended instruction.

She also emphasized that while DepEd permits private schools to continue using blended learning methods, they “leave it to the private schools and their stakeholders, their learners, guardians, and parents to discuss their ways forward with regards to the education of their learners.”

Moreover, the education secretary reminded everyone that the department holds “an amount of studies available” to emphasize the pertinence of face-to-face classes for basic education. 

The Implementation Phase

Amid reports and appeals to continue with blended and distance learning, public schools around the country were forced to implement full face-to-face classes starting Wednesday, November 2. 

In Central Visayas alone, almost all schools had implemented full face-to-face classes, according to DepEd Regional Director Salustiano Jimenez.

Meanwhile, 1,832 public schools and 132 private schools in the Cordillera Administrative Region, according to DepEd CAR Public Affairs Head Cyrille Gaye Miranda, are implementing full face-to-face classes. 

Moreover, 94% of public schools in the National Capital Region began fully operating at 100 percent capacity, while 50 schools were exempted from implementing full face-to-face learning and instead, continued with the blended and online distance modalities. 

In regards to the wearing of face masks, DepEd Spokesperson Micheal Poa remarked that schools will follow Executive Order No. 7, which allows voluntary wearing of face masks in indoor spaces, even inside classrooms.

Thumbnail from the Manila Times