Students in lower-risks area return to classrooms as the Philippines reopens schools
Thousands of the Philippines students returned to school on Monday for the first time in nearly two years as a hundred public schools in lower-risk areas have started a two-month pilot program to hold courses in person.
As approved by President Rodrigo Duterte, a total of 100 public schools will participate in the two-month pilot program. On Monday, 30 private schools will begin limited in-person classes.
There are around 48,000 public schools in the Philippines, which has some of the world’s longest lockdowns, and was one of the last countries to reopen schools. The class sizes have been reduced by half, and only vaccinated teachers and school personnel are allowed to interact with students.
In a statement, the country’s Department of Education said…
“We are pleased to see our students inside our classrooms because we recognize the importance of face-to-face learning in their social development.”
Weekly Covid-19 antigen testing to check students and teachers engaging in in-person classes is one of the demands which comes after the Department of Education stated that it will not be tested for Covid-19.
Duterte has given the green light for more schools to participate in the pilot program and the list of more schools will be provided once it has been validated, according to the DepEd.
