DepEd Adheres to Duterte’s Directive of ‘No Face-To-Face Classes Until Vaccine Is Available’

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday announced the postponement of face-to-face classes in compliance to the directive of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to open schools until vaccine is available.

“We will comply with the President’s directive to postpone face-to-face classes until a vaccine is available,” DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones said in a press statement on June 8.

Briones thanked the President for reiterating the national government’s willingness to assist in DepEd’s offered alternatives to face-to-face learning despite the public health situation.

“It is a challenging task for us at the Department of Education to prepare our schools in a different set-up but we are committed to our duty to make education available and thriving, even in the most difficult time,” Briones said.

The DepEd said they are preparing their operations from Central Office to DepEd school level in the implementation of Basic Education-Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP).

“We are updating our policies, realigning our finances, and collaborating with our partners so that our goals of providing quality education and protecting the safety and health of our constituents will be achieved,” Briones said.

Meanwhile, the DepEd cited they are continuing the conduct of remote enrollment nationwide which started on June 1.

“For the first two weeks, enrollment will be online. We are not allowing teachers and staff from attending as well as parents and children. They will have to register online,” Briones said during the press briefing of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday.

Briones added that students who could not enroll online due to lack of connectivity can personally register on the second half of June.

“We assure our parents, learners, stakeholders, and the President that we are preparing ourselves for this mission,” Briones said.

The DepEd released the National Enrollment Data which states a total of 6,415,878 million students from public and private schools nationwide are enrolled as of June 8.

The education department reported Region4A or CALABARZON for having the highest number of enrollees with 1,283,358 million students, followed by National Capital Region with 895,406 students who enrolled. (PIA-NCR)