Back to School: Full Face-to-face Classes in the Philippines to Start in November

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared that official face-to-face classes in the Philippines should be implemented this September, before the hundred percent entire person face-to-face classes by November.

Concurrent Education Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte proposed that the full person face-to-face classes be implemented by November, despite the increase of the cases of COVID-19.

By September, the phased face-to-face classes will start until the country transitions to 100% attendance by November, Marcos added.

He added that more discussions on vaccination are needed in line with implementing the full face-to-face classes due to future issues and conflicts between face-to-face classes that entail the pandemic.

Former National Economic and Development Authority Director-General Karl Chua said that full person learning would significantly impact the country’s economic activity by 12 billion. This figure is said to be reached per week due to the resumptions of school transport services, food stalls, school supplies establishments, and dormitories. Besides lenient pandemic restrictions and eased travel policies, the resumption of face-to-face classes in schools is essential in reaching full economic recovery status, as Chua added. [1]

NEDA has also previously extended its support to reopening face-to-face classes, expressing that it would improve students’ learning productivity and the country’s business activity.

According to the Department of Education, around 38,000 schools in the Philippines are now ready to implement face-to-face classes for the presumptive school year opening this August. [2]

The Philippines is one of the last countries to resume full-person classes after almost two years of temporarily halting due to the onslaught of the pandemic in 2020.

Halting classes in schools worldwide has significantly impacted the education sector. The Philippines is one country that is slow to resume face-to-face classes, considering the effects of vaccination rates, particularly among the minor age groups.

Marcos wants to get this implementation done quickly, saying they are in a hurry since there are a lot of matters to address in so little time. [3]

With this news, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) has called the national government’s attention to ensuring the public’s safety in place of the return of full-person face-to-face classes in the Philippines. Additional funds and more assistance in health and safety are needed to be provided to schools to combat the still-existing threat of COVID-19.

In addition to health and safety measures, the Department of Education (DepEd) has also declared that teachers must be fully vaccinated, given that they would need to physically report to their respective schools. On the other hand, DepEd does not oblige students to be vaccinated. [4]

Meanwhile, the National Parents-Teacher Association Federation recommends that all participating individuals in the full in-person classes, including school administrators, teachers, and students, be fully vaccinated before returning to schools and campuses. The recommendation was expressed by the group’s secretary-general Lito Senieto. [5]

So far, former President Rodrigo Duterte permitted around 100 schools to allow children to attend physical classes around November 2021 and held back the full resumption of face-to-face classes due to health concerns in line with COVID-19.

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