Although the Department of Education-Cordillera has been all set for the implementation of limited face-to-face classes this year, the agency said it welcomes the suspension of the supposed pilot run this month.
The DepEd central office cancelled plans on the holding of face-to-face classes when President Rodrigo Duterte recalled on Dec. 26 his approval of the dry run, which was supposed to be implemented in areas categorized as low risk for the Covid-19.
Duterte ordered schools to recall the plan of conducting face-to-face classes in light of reports that a new strain of the virus that causes the Covid-19 has emerged in the United Kingdom and has been reported in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia.
DepEd-Cordillera Public Affairs Officer Georaloy Palao-ay said the regional office welcomes the development, adding despite the cancellation of the face-to-face classes, learning will continue through the modular approach.
“We have no problem with that because despite the (supposed) one month pilot testing of the limited face-to-face classes, the preparation and production of modules has been continuous,” Palao-ay said.
He said DepEd-Cordillera was waiting for the final/approved list of the schools it submitted to the central office where the limited face-to-face classes were supposed to be held, but the plan was cancelled.
“If it was not cancelled, we would have seen the effects of the blending of the limited face-to-face and modular learning approach,” Palao-ay said.
In December last year, DepEd-Cordillera proposed 10 schools each in Abra, Apayao, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, and Tabuk City for the conduct of limited face-to-face classes.
Dep-Ed-Cordillera’s plan for the limited face-to-face classes was to accommodate a maximum of 20 learners in a classroom with a size of 9×7 meters and 15 learners in a 7×7-meter classroom.
In a statement, DepEd said it was suspending the pilot run of face-to-face classes until further notice.
“The Department will fully cooperate with the Inter-Agency Task Force in its response to the current situation,” the statement added. – Jane B. Cadalig
April 20, 2024
