The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) on Friday said it could start limited face-to-face classes in more degree programs by January.
The commission has been floating the idea of expanding face-to-face classes in areas with low Covid-19 cases and high vaccination rates.
In a “Laging Handa” news briefing, CHEd Chairman Prospero de Vera III said guidelines for these classes could be finished within the year.
“[A]ng tina-target natin diyan ay matapos sana ang guidelines maybe November o December at titignan natin kung anong kalagayan on the ground by January kung pwede na ito,” he said.
De Vera reported that 27 percent of college students in the country have been vaccinated.
The number, the CHEd chairman said, was still low.
“Hindi natin puwedeng isugal ang kalagayan ng mga estudyante at kalagayan ng kanilang mga pamilya kung mababa ang level ng vaccination,” he said.
President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the resumption of in-person classes in medicine and other health-allied courses, and recently engineering and technology, hospitality, and tourism.
According to CHEd data, over 21,000 students from over 180 higher education institutions all over the country have participated in limited in-person classes. John Ezekiel J. Hirro