DepEd Central Visayas Director Says 40 Private Schools Request To Continue Their “Blended Learning” Approach
DEPED – The director of the Department of Education Central Visayas, Salustiano Jimenez said around 40 private schools in Central Visayas want out of in-person classes.
Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, who also sits as Education Secretary, ordered all public and private elementary and high schools in the Philippines to implement the full in-person classes starting November 2. That is her first order as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).
“Starting Nov. 2, 2022, all public and private schools shall have transitioned to five days of in-person classes. After the said date, no school shall be allowed to implement purely distance learning or blended learning except for those that are implementing alternative modes,” read Sara’s order.
In public schools, the school year 2022–2023 officially began on August 22 and will end on July 7, 2023. Private schools were allowed to alter their school calendar from those prescribed by the DepEd as long as they did so between the first Monday in June and not later than the last day of August.
The DepEd stated that schools were only permitted to hold blended or full-distance learning classes until October 31 if they had not yet implemented five days of in-person instruction.
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Based on a report from Inquirer, DepEd has been notified by roughly 40 private schools in Central Visayas that they do not intend to implement the requirement for in-person classes beginning on November 2. Salustiano Jimenez, the director of DepEd-Central Visayas, said that representatives of these schools asked for permission to continue their “blended learning” strategy in response to the demands of parents who continue to express concern about allowing their children to physically attend classes in the face of COVID-19.
Additionally, he continued, it is challenging to organize in-person classes at some private schools since the classrooms that Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) devastated in December 2021 have not yet been repaired. Jimenez said that he had already relayed the matter to their Manila headquarters and was now awaiting Sara Duterte’s decision.
According to the report, at least 1,000 public classrooms in Central Visayas could not yet be used due to damage caused by Odette. Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor are all located in the Central Visayas, which was one of the areas that Odette devastated on December 16, 2021.
Salustiano Jimenez said Sara Duterte promised to make every effort to have the classrooms fixed as quickly as possible. He said that as of last week, 70% of Central Visayas’ public schools had begun implementing in-person classes.
Jimenez said they will keep using the “shifting strategy,” or sharing one room during specific days and hours, given the number of students and the lack of classrooms.
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