In-person classes virus-free

The Department of Education (DepEd) reported on Wednesday that no cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) were recorded during the pilot implementation of limited in-person classes.

The Education department said that there were no cases recorded among the 15,683 learners who participated in the pilot implementation of limited face-to-face classes.
To recall, President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the expansion of face-to-face classes by February amid the rising number of infections in the country and the lingering threat of the Omicron variant.

The Education department is elated that Duterte expressed his strong support in the expansion of the limited face-to-face classes.

“We believe this high confidence from President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and our stakeholders was due to the successful pilot implementation of face-to-face classes in 287 public and private schools nationwide from 15 November to 20 December 2021,” the DepEd said.

It also noted that the pilot implementation led to satisfactory results and positive feedback from our learners, teachers and parents.

“We observed a high level of attendance and performance among learner participants. Our stakeholders felt safe against the virus throughout the implementation and were highly satisfied with the implementation of health and safety protocols and teaching and learning improvements brought by the face-to-face classes,” said the DepEd.

“The implementation also inculcated a culture of shared responsibility among the national government, parents and learners, the local government units, teachers, school officials and staff, and other stakeholders in ensuring everyone’s safety and welfare,” it added.

The Education department thanked the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for assisting them in developing a responsive operational guideline on face-to-face learning delivery.

“We also thank the Department of the Interior and Local Government for encouraging local government units to support the pilot implementation,” said the agency. “Finally, we are also grateful to all the DepEd personnel, external partners, and parents of our learners for their cooperation to make this initial pilot of physical classes a successful one.”

DepEd said it will also continue its efforts in support of the vaccination drive of the national government since immunization is still a key element in boosting the confidence of community members for the return of
face-to-face classes.