Schooling in the new normal

THE first executive order issued by Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio mandates that face-to-face classes should resume on Nov. 2, 2022 for both public and private schools. The transition options provided can only be implemented up to the end of October: five days of in-person classes; blended learning modality, i.e., three days of in-person classes and two days of distance learning; and full distance learning.

By November 2, all students are expected to be attending face-to-face classes. However, depending on Covid-19 surges that may be present in some localities or cities, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is empowered to suspend such classes, in which case the Department of Education (DepEd) will follow until it trickles down to all public and private schools. It also does not seem to be a blanket policy applicable to higher education as the Commission on Higher Education has left the final decision to universities and colleges on whether to implement 100-percent in-person classes.