Philippine private schools ask govt to allow face-to-face classes in low risk areas

MANILA, Jul 11, 2020, The Manila Times. A federation of private schools appealed to the national government to allow face-to-face classes in areas with low or no recorded coronavirus cases so that its institutions can survive the pandemic, The Manila Times reported.

The Federation of Associations of Private School Administrators (Fapsa) said face-to-face classes should be allowed in areas where general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) are declared as long as these private schools strictly adhere to the protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), the Department of Health (DoH) and the Department of Education (DepEd).

Fapsa President Eleazardo Kasilag said some of their members, especially those in the provinces under GCQ or MGCQ, and those “hardly affected” by the virus may hold face-to-face classes “even for two days a week as long as these administrators commit to observe protocols given by IATF, DoH, and DepEd.”

President Rodrigo Duterte said face-to-face classes would remain suspended until a Covid-19 vaccine was available — a move supported by DepEd.

As of Friday, data from DepEd showed that 19,262,355 learners nationwide have enrolled in private and public schools. Of this number, 18,286,986 are in public schools while 953,028 in private schools.

With reports from JAVIER JOE ISMAEL