The Department of Education (DepEd) announced that public schools can apply for an exemption to hold 5-day face-to-face classes beyond November 2.
“Kung sakaling may public schools na hindi kakayaning mag-5 days na in-person classes, pwede po sila humingi ng exemption sa kani-kanilang regional directors,” DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa said.
The announcement was made after the education department released a memo on Monday declaring that private schools are exempted from mandating schools to hold 5 days of in-person classes beginning November 2.
“Batid po natin sa Department of Education ang sitwasyon ng private schools ngayon bunga ng pandemya. Alam po natin na marami sa kanila ang nag-invest para maka-switch sa online learning,” Poa said.
He added that many of the private schools have already developed and institutionalized best practices for blended learning.
“Napapabalita na rin po na maraming mga maliliit na pribadong eskuwelahan na nagsasara dahil hindi nila ma-meet ang enrollment targets,” he added.
— Ronald Espartinez