Tens of millions of children will not be allowed back to school until a coronavirus vaccine is available, officials announced Monday, saying they may have to broadcast lessons on TV.
Nations like France and South Korea began resuming face-to-face classes as they got their outbreaks under control, but Philippine authorities see the risk as too great.
President Rodrigo Duterte said last month that even if students could not graduate, they needed to stay out of school to fight the spread of the disease.
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"We will comply with the President's directive to postpone face-to-face classes until a vaccine is available," Education Secretary Leonor Briones said in a statement Monday.
Classes are to resume at the end of August and teachers will use distance learning methods via the internet or TV broadcasts where needed, Briones added.
But millions live in deep poverty and do not have access to computers at home, which is key to the viability of online classes.
"The teacher and the school will have to adjust… depending on the availability of communication," Briones said in a press briefing.
There has been little public opposition to the postponement of face-to-face classes in the Philippines, where hundreds of new infections are being detected daily despite early and strict lockdown measures.
Children are generally not allowed outside their homes.
Online enrollment for over 25 million primary and secondary students started earlier this month for a delayed start to the school year, which normally runs from June to April in the Philippines.
Scientists around the world are racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine, but it is not clear when a viable candidate will be proven and distributed on a large scale.
One of the contenders is from British pharma giant AstraZeneca, which said last week that it is "on track" to begin rolling out a vaccine in September if ongoing trials prove successful.
While preparing schools for “a different setup” is a challenge, she said DepEd is readying the resumption of school operations based on their Basic Education”•Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) which would affect almost the entire education infrastructure in the country”•from the DepEd Central Office down to the school level.
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.
Remote enrollment is ongoing nationwide with the aim of collecting and assessing household information of students.
The enrollment will be crucial in preparing and tailor-fitting the learning delivery method in different localities, Briones said.
Meanwhile, the groundwork for “blended learning” is underway, which would make use of radio, television, online, and modular learning “• currently being prepared and updated by the DepEd this year.
To ensure the effectiveness of these alternative learning methods, she said the DepEd is working with the private sector and education experts.
Last week, the DepEd announced that a total of 5,204,949 students have enrolled in both public and private schools nationwide during the first week of its remote enrollment system.
The enrollment, which is for the school year 2020-2021, is done through the phone or through online platforms and will last until June 30.
On Monday, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian pushed for the acceleration of the DepEd's digital transformation.
Among the online services that should be expedited now are enrollment, payments, grades submissions, and parent-teacher meetings, Gatchalian said.
Through Senate Bill No. 1565 or the Education in the New Normal Act, which calls for the creation of a Safe Schools Reopening Plan, Gatchalian is seeking to speed up the provision of free public wi-fi as mandated under Republic Act No. 10929 or the “Free Internet Access in Public Places Act” to support distance learning, especially when school closures occur during emergencies.
The proposed measure also mandates DepEd to enhance its information and communications technology (ICT) capacity to streamline and integrate its workflow and processes. This would increase the efficiency of services through automation and digitization that promotes zero-contact policy and observes social distancing.
The bill also seeks the installation of electronic and online systems for the seamless exchange of data and information among DepEd offices, learners, and parents.
Data centers, data repositories, encryption systems, basic messaging, electronic mail, and cyber-security facilities will be installed in the build-up of DepEd’s technology capacities. DepEd personnel will undergo training in rolling out this digital transformation. With AFP and PNA
