Modular learning will continue in the Cordillera even with the expansion of limited face-to-face classes next year, an official of the Department of Education announced.
In the recent launch of Education Week, DepEd-Cordillera Director Estela Cariño said in-person classes would still be limited thus the continuing use of modules and online classes.
“What we learned now in the pandemic, we would still apply it as we will go slow with our implementation,” Cariño said.
She said in-person classes would be two to three days and the other days would be spent doing modules or online classes.
Cariño added students and teachers also have to take their time to transition from modular learning to face-to-face classes.
Benguet Schools Division Superintendent Gloria Buya-ao said teachers and students also need to readjust to face-to-face instruction after going through modular or online learning for more than a year.
“The students, teachers, and parents are happy with the face-to-face. They just need time to get used to teaching and learning inside the classroom again,” Buya-ao said.
In Benguet, two schools out of the 20 recommended pilot schools in the Cordillera will implement limited face-to-face classes. These are schools in Atok: Ja’pa Elementary School with 39 students and Naguey ES with 62 students, all from kindergarten to grade three.
Buya-ao lauded the barangay officials who committed to sanitize the classroom after every class.
Buya-ao said they have submitted 17 schools in the province for face-to-face classes and while only two were approved for the initial implementation, other schools are preparing for their possible inclusion next year.
On Dec. 9, DepEd-Baguio City Schools Division Superintendent Federico Martin announced that four public elementary and high schools have been recommended by the DepEd to the local IATF for approval for face-to-face classes by January 2022.
These are the Santo Tomas Elementary School, Mil-An National High School, Happy Hallow NHS, and the Baguio City National Science High School.
Cariño said more schools in the region might open, subject to approval of concerned authorities for in-person classes next year, as she reported that DepEd has submitted 100 schools, mostly from Mountain Province, for possible face-to-face classes.
The schools would undergo evaluation based on their risk classifications and readiness to implement limited face-to-face classes. – Ofelia C. Empian
