While waiting for the approval of the national Inter-Agency Task Force for the resumption of face-to-face classes, the Department of Education-Cordillera is preparing schools identified as pilot areas for the program.
DepEd-CAR Director Estela Cariño said they have listed 50 schools that are being prepared for the pilot testing in case limited face-to-face classes would be approved by IATF and Malacañang.
“We already have the list of schools because in case the President will give clearance then we will do limited face-to-face classes and what we are doing right now is to check if the preparation is based from the standards required,” Cariño said.
A maximum of 10 students per room will be allowed while classes will be limited for two to three hours. The classes would be done in batches for the whole day to adhere to health protocols.
Cariño said the pilot schools were chosen based on the request of the local government units through their municipal IATFs. These schools are in areas where learners need not travel or walk a long distance; there is a low Covid-19 case or none at all; teachers are from the same barangay as the learners; and evidence of shared responsibility between home and community.
The recommended schools do not need to conduct classes in the classrooms but in areas where they can gather once a week.
The Benguet Schools Division listed the highest number of pilot schools with 17; Abra with 10; Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province with six schools each; and Tabuk City with five.
Cariño said they have been going around the region to assess and evaluate the various division offices on how they are doing with their distance learning.
“While we are in the midst of the pandemic, we should not stop what we are doing especially when it comes to our learners, provision of quality education as well as also remembering what has been happening before and what else can be done on how can we improve our services,” she said. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 20, 2024
