An opposition lawmaker on Thursday welcomed the Department of Education’s push for a 100 percent face-to-face classes for the school year 2022-2023.
Given this, Assistant Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro the DepEd should ensure that school facilities are ready and adequate for the safe reopening of schools.
“We welcome this push from the Department of Education for the 100 percent face-to-face classes by SY 2022-2022. This is actually long overdue,” Castro said in a statement. “Our pupils have endured two years of blended distance learning which further worsens the education crisis in the country,” Castro said, adding that “Face-to-face classes are still the best way for pupils to gain access to quality education.”
Castro also listed what she described as important measures to ensure the safe reopening of classes: ensure that classrooms have better ventilation, air filtration, washing, and sanitation facilities; ramp up vaccination programs; provide free weekly testing for teachers and education support personnel who will participate in face-to-face classes; mass hiring of school nurses; and provide a medical fund for the treatment of those who will get infected with COVID-19.
“Government should ramp up its plans and prepare our schools for the safe reopening of classes to also boost the nation’s confidence and allow the safe reopening of face-to-face classes,” Castro said.
“Use scientific measures and not non-sense policies to ensure that our schools are indeed safe for in-class learning. Let us not waste any more resources with barriers and never-ending lockdowns of schools,” she added.
She expressed confidence that the government will be able to ensure that the demands for the safe reopening of schools are met.