The first week of the full implementation of in-person classes in public schools this month saw an overwhelming acceptance of learners of the resumption of classes following the pre-Covid-19 setup.
“Nakakatuwa na konti lang ang absent. All are excited to go back to face-to-face classes,” DepEd-Cordillera Director Estela Cariño told reporters in an interview during the Gender and Development Focal Point System Assembly last Nov. 3.
DepEd records show one classroom has around 50 to 65 learners.
Cariño said based on an informal survey on learners, not one so far has signified wanting to go back to blended instruction.
Initial assessment of the DepEd-CAR showed that of the 1,844 schools in the region, 12 are still implementing blended learning due to circumstances such as landslides, ongoing construction of school buildings, or failure to implement Covid-19 safety protocols, hence the need to divide a class to maintain social distancing.
Schools still implementing blended learning on a temporary basis are Roxas National High School, Rizal NHS, Kias Elementary School in Baguio; Abra NHS; Tuding ES, Line 10 Primary School; Alejo Pacalso NHS, Ambangeg NHS; Ampucao NHS; Benguet NHS main, Loo NHS; and Natubleng NHS, in Benguet.
Cariño said a major concern of the DepEd encountered on the first week of full in-person classes are the continuing use of buildings that are not structurally sound and traffic jams.
She asked concerned local governments where these concerns were raised to assist the DepEd by appealing to the contractors to fast-track the construction of school buildings and to manage traffic movement.
Some teachers, meanwhile, hold a different view about the full resumption of in-person classes.
For Rebecca Amlag, a teacher at Sto. Tomas ES in Baguio, she prefers blended learning setup where four days will be devoted to full in-person classes and one day modular where only learners who need intervention or remedial classes will be required to attend.
“I prefer blended so that we can have time to help ‘learners at risk’, or those who have difficulty coping in their academics,” Amlag said.
Vice President and DepEd Sec. Sara Duterte-Carpio has directed the resumption of full in-person classes this year, two years after classes were done online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gradual implementation of in-person classes started in August. – Rimaliza A. Opiña
