MANILA – Whether or not classes will open this year, schools are preparing for class opening come August 24 as earlier announced by education Secretary Leonor Briones.
But congress is not yet kin on setting the date of class opening. A bill is still pending in the senate giving power to the president to fix the date of class opening due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Senator Imee Marcos suggested that those areas ready to open on August 24 could proceed while strictly observing the required safety protocols.
Even the president made himself clear that he was bound to forgo school opening this year without a reliable vaccine against the virus. As of May 27, the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country climbed to 14,669 or 350 more than the previous data of the Department of Health.
The president has yet to announce in the evening of May 28 if Metro Manila and Davao City would be reclassified to general community quarantine (GCQ) thereby reinforcing the possibility of an August 24 class opening.
During the virtual presser on May 27, Department of Education (DepEd) undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio who also heads the DepEd’s Curriculum Development Division said that the department has prepared the learning continuity plan that will guide public and private schools to ensure that education of children will continue under this challenging time.
Usec. San Antonio presented four Learning Delivery Modalities for the new normal that schools can adopt depending on their own capacity and situation of their respective localities in the coming school opening.
The first mode is the Face-to-Face (F2F), or the traditional mode of education where physical presence of both the students and teachers are needed.
The second mode is the Distance Learning, which includes the online distance learning (ODL) using the internet, TV and radio, as well as the Modular Distance Learning (MDL) which uses printed materials for students to use and submit to teachers like the one used in the Alternative Learning System (ALS).
The third mode of delivery is the Blended Learning (BL) where all of the first and second modes may be integrated or combined depending on the capacity of the school and situation in the area.
The fourth mode is Home Schooling (HS) where children stay at home and their trained parents, guardians or significant adults will serve as their mentors.
