The local governments and concerned national agencies should ensure that implementation of health protocols is strictly being followed for the pilot run of face-to-face (F2F) classes, presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday.
Marcos, standard-bearer of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, said as an advocate for better treatment for the education sector, he wants to ensure that teachers and students can safely go back to schools.
“The safety of children and of teachers must be ensured. Strengthen the coordination and cooperation of the local government, Department of Health, and Department of Education, for the proper implementation of the program,” Marcos said.
Aside from observing health protocols, Marcos told DepEd to only deploy vaccinated teachers to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
He also urged DepEed to continue encouraging teachers and school personnel to get vaccinated to make sure that students are safe while the DOH has started its inoculation of minors aged 12 to 17 years old.
“I’m happy that at least we are trying to start face-to-face classes. It is actually good news because that is a very good sign that, somehow, we are slowly going back to normalcy. [But in] other countries, they have experienced that there were risks involved in having non-vaccinated teachers and staff when they went back to face-to-face classes,” he said.
Based on the memorandum released by the DepEd, all public schools nationwide will be required to conduct a self-assessment using the School Safety Assessment Tool (SSAT) in preparation for the expansion phase and onward transitioning to new normal of face-to-face after President Rodrigo Duterte approved a total of 120 public and private schools to join the two-month pilot run that will start on November 15.
Marcos reminded parents that the program is on a voluntary basis and to make sure that they provide a signed consent if they want to allow their children to join the pilot classes.