FOUR hundred students in Davao Region on Monday, November 15, went back to school to attend the pilot implementation of limited face-to-face classes.
Based on the figures provided by Department of Education (DepEd)-Davao Region spokesperson Jenielito Atillo, 232 students in Davao del Sur will be having classes in Clib Public School in Hagonoy and the Nodilla Elementary School and Tacub Elementary School in Kiblawan.
About 182 are from the public schools in Davao de Oro, namely, Bares Elementary School (Pagsabangan Extension) in New Bataan, Parasan Integrated School in Pantukan, and Lower Panansalan Elementary School (Jacinto Extension), Maugat Elementary School, and Digaynon Integrated School in Compostela.
Atillo said all schools had a “successful and peaceful” opening, which he attributed to the support of the local government units, parents, teachers, principals, and school personnel.
He said none of the teaching personnel tested positive for Covid-19, as what was experienced in other participating schools in the country.
The official said participating students are mandated to observe the minimum public health standards such as wearing of face masks, proper hand washing, and physical distancing.
Atillo said the pilot F2F classes are crucial in the government’s plan to gradually bring back the students to schools under the new normal setting.
“The period is very critical for the implementation of the face-to-face,” he said.
Currently, 100 public schools in the country, coming from areas classified as low risk for Covid-19, had resumed operations after more than a year since the physical classroom setup was suspended.
But DepEd said it may add more to the list should President Rodrigo Duterte allow more schools to open as the Covid-19 situation in the country improves.
“The penultimate goal is that all schools could go back to the face-to-face modality,” Atillo said.
The DepEd official, however, did not elaborate whether more schools in the region will be qualified for the limited face-to-face classes.
The pilot run will be assessed by the end of December and will end on January 31, 2022.
By February 2022, the DepEd, after the evaluation and assessment of the initial pilot run, will present to Duterte the expansion of in-person classes, which will start on March 7, 2022.
