Samantha Lorin E.

Cayetano 12 – Abraham

Reading and Writing: Evaluative Essay Nov. 15, 2022

No stopping in-person classes for PH schools

MANILA, Philippines — Despite a shortage of classrooms and reported

COVID-19 cases among students, all public schools will start full in-person
classes as originally planned on Nov. 2, while private schools can continue
blended and full distance learning beyond that date, the Department of
Education (DepEd) announced on Monday.

Private institutions were also given the option to adopt five-day in-person
classes aside from the blended and remote learning modalities.

DepEd earlier mandated all public and private educational institutions to shift
to five days of in-person classes beginning Nov. 2, a move that was opposed
by teachers’ groups and several private schools.

Under the amended DepEd Order No. 44, all public schools nationwide ―shall
have transitioned to five days in-person classes‖ after the adjustment period
ends on Oct. 31, or beginning Nov. 2.

―After the said date, no public school shall be allowed to implement purely
distance learning or blended learning, except for those that are expressly
provided an exemption by the regional director, those whose classes are
automatically canceled due to disaster and calamities, and those
implementing Alternative Delivery Modes,‖ it added.

DepEd underscored the ―[in]disputable fact‖ that conducting in-person

classes was still the best option for basic education as the agency expressed
confidence that it would help the academic development and mental health
and well-being of students.

Based on the DepEd’s data released in August, 46 percent, or 24,175 public

and private schools nationwide, were implementing in-person classes for five
days a week.

The majority of the schools, or 29,721 (51.8 percent), continued holding

blended learning approaches, or in-person classes for three days and two
days of remote learning.

Seeking exemption
The order issued on Monday amended the earlier policy signed by Vice
President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte mandating both public and
private schools to implement full in-person classes by Nov. 2.

DepEd said it acknowledged the current situation of the private sector such
as their investment in online learning technologies, the institutionalization of
best practices in blended learning, and the closure of small private schools.

Hence, the agency said it would let private education institutions decide on
the learning modality that they want to implement.

―DepEd, however, hopes that parents/guardians of private school learners

would not miss the abundance of scientific studies available on the
advantages of in-person classes over online learning,‖ it said.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said that while full in-person
classes were ―urgent and necessary, it cannot be done simply with a written
order.‖

In a statement, the progressive teachers’ group said it received reports that

many schools in Metro Manila and other urban areas were appealing to be
exempted from the policy, citing the lack of facilities and human resources.

―Our schools have no other recourse but to appeal for exemption as

absorptive capacity was not expanded since the Aug. 22 school opening. Our
classes are taking turns in using classrooms and our teachers are already
overloaded with teaching and nonteaching duties,‖ ACT said.

―While we do not wish for the push for 100-percent [implementation of]
face-to-face classes to fail, it seems that it is where we are heading given
the government’s failure to address our problems,‖ it added.

Thankful

Private school administrators, however, welcomed the DepEd’s decision.

The Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the

Philippines (Cocopea), in a statement sent to ABS-CBN, thanked DepEd for
―giving primary consideration to students’ and parents’ choice of [learning]
platforms.‖

―This also gives the flexibility needed to strengthen innovation in schools and
maximize the benefits of hybrid learning modalities, even as we also
integrate in-person classes in schools,‖ it added.
The Federation of Associations of Private School Administrators (Fapsa) also
welcomed the recent development, saying that private schools would have
suffered more problems if full face-to-face classes were made mandatory
starting Nov. 2.

―Even our own parents do not want to send their kids to school daily since
the outbreak or COVID-19 is very much around,‖ Fapsa president Eleazardo
Kasilag said.

DepEd is pushing for the return of the traditional in-person setup to address
learning losses prompted by school closures due to the pandemic.

The World Bank’s latest report on the state of education noted that after two
years of distance learning, nine out of 10 Filipino children aged 10 were still
struggling to read simple texts. This made the Philippines one of the
countries with the highest rates of ―learning poverty‖ in the East Asia and
Pacific regions.

Reference
Bautista, J. (2022, October 18). No stopping in-person classes for PH
schools. INQUIRER.net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1681141/no-
stopping-in-person-classes-for-ph-schools

The Means to Sustain Face-to-Face Classes

Several countries across the globe have become lenient after years of

venturing with strict lockdown measures due to the pandemic. They are

slowly regaining their disrupted lifestyles. The Philippine government

became pressured to do the same despite our phasing differences, but does

our country have the means to return to our old routines?

In an Inquirer article last October 2022, the Department of Education

announced that despite the shortage of classrooms and reported COVID-19

cases among students, all public schools should start full in-person classes in

November as planned. The memorandum was strengthened by the amended

DepEd Order No. 44 that disallowed public schools to implement pure

distance or blended learning after the said date, although there are few

exemptions. A study says that 67% of Filipino children find it challenging to

comprehend the content of their learning modules. In a research conducted

by the Psychosocial Support and Children’s Rights Resource Center, 33% of

the student-respondents do not perceive the home as a conducive

environment for learning compared to their schools. Through this

information, we can assume that the return of face-to-face classes can help

improve the educational crisis in the country. The problem is that we are

incapable of executing it fully in-personly. DepEd Undersecretary Epimaco

Densing III told the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture last

August 10 that we lack around 91,000 classrooms for this school year. The

student ratio in Metro Manila and CALABARZON reached 1:68. With the

given ratio and the size of each room in the country, schools would indeed

disregard the health protocols. This ignorance will result in higher COVID-19

cases. Let us also consider the 7.7% inflation rate in the country. With the

still-recovering economy, it will be more difficult for Filipino families to

sustain the expenses of sending their children to face-to-face classes since it

comes with transportation, food, and school materials.

At some point, in-person classes can be beneficial to Filipinos. Sadly,

most Filipino families and even the government cannot sustain the cost. The

Department of Education should perform an assessment first and pay

attention to the main issues before forcing everyone to adapt right away.