Leni Robredo Asks DepEd To Study Proposal Of Physical Classes In COVID-FREE Areas
PHYSICAL CLASSES IN COVID-FREE AREAS – Much debate has surrounded the topic of reopening classes amid the coronavirus epidemic.
As the number of cases continued to rise, educators and students have voiced their safety concerns to the government. Meanwhile, some universities have already opted for a mixed learning system with the first semester being purely online classes.
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However, not every student or educator could easily adjust to the online learning system. This was why Vice President Leni Robredo urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to study the proposal of conducting physical classes in areas with zero cases of the new coronavirus.
According to an article from Philstar, Robredo stated:
I hope the DepEd will study the possibility of face-to-face classes in places where there is no incidence (of COVID-19). For example, I just read, Tawi-Tawi has no incidence, Batanes has no incidence. It’s easy to contain (the virus) because these are islands. Maybe we can consider face-to-face classes there
Clearly, one cannot understate the importance of education. But, due to the circumstances of the times, some compromises should be made. Sadly, the Philippines still lags in comparison to other countries in terms of the availability of technology that allows conducting online classes.
On this note, Robredo emphasized those students with special needs, first-time learners, and those who can’t read and write yet. Moreover, she added that some special education students should also require professionals such as speech therapists.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has set up Community Hubs that provide impoverished students free access to computers and tutorials. As per the article, Robredo said:
The idea of the Community Hub is (that) in places where there is poor internet signal or no internet signal, students will have a place to go to in their community where they can use computers, download and print their lessons without the need to commute,
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