THE Department of Education’s (DepEd) pilot implementation of limited face -to-face classes is attracting more interest from private schools who want to take part in the program, the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) said yesterday.
COCOPEA managing director Joseph Noel Estrada, during the “Laging Handa” public briefing, said private schools in various cities of the country, particularly those located in Metro Manila, are eager to participate in the experimental run as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to drop.
“Maraming nakaabang na once ma-expand na iyong implementation sa mga ibang regions lalo na doon sa mga urban areas. In fact, pati sa NCR (National Capital Region) may mga ilan na mga miyembro, mga eskuwelahan na naghihintay na lang na payagan din (There are several who are interested in joining in once implementation in different regions, particularly those in urban areas. In fact, even in NCR we have members schools that are just waiting for approval to start since the alert level was lowered),” Estrada said.
Estrada said once the procedures and guidelines are finalized by the DepEd, he expects COCOPEA member schools and other private schools’ organizations would begin applying for evaluation.
Still, he said there are others who would rather continue with their online learning platforms up to the end of the current school year, especially those that invested heavily in improving the online education facilities.
Estrada said how fast the transition from online learning to face-to-face classes will be is dependent on the results of the pilot implementation. He noted that the initial data has been encouraging.
In addition to its own monitoring, the COCOPEA has also requested for access in DepEd’s monitoring system to have a clearer idea of the challenges of the actual implementation.
However, Estrada said for highly populous areas, the vaccination rate among students could be a key factor.
“I think kailangan talaga mataas iyong vaccination rate at lalo na pati doon sa mga estudyante sa basic education, sana mataas na rin ang vaccination rates noong 12 to 17-year-old (I think it would be ideal to have a high vaccination rate, including for basic education students in the 12 to 17 age bracket),” he pointed out.
The COCOPEA officer added that among member schools of the group, teachers and non-teaching personnel are encouraged to get vaccinated although personal choices are respected.
“We can’t force them but I think it has been made clear in the guidelines that only those who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to report to the school once limited face to face classes start,” he said.
He said, non-vaccinated teachers would have to continue online lessons or undergo mandatory testing every time they enter the school campus.
