The school year will open nationwide on August 24, but traditional face-to-face learning in the classroom won’t happen just yet. Classes may be conducted physically or virtually depending on the state of the coronavirus pandemic by then, the DepEd said.
Schools and community learning centers, under the guidance of DepEd Regional and Division offices, will be allowed to choose relevant and appropriate alternative learning delivery methods which best fit the context and/or health situation in their community.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the school calendar has been moved to Aug. 24 for basic education in consideration of the adjustments needed to deter further the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 among children vulnerable to the disease.
Private schools may start their school year earlier in June, but the IATF advises that the school management adopt online classes or other learning delivery options that would adhere to the social distancing regulations set by the Department of Health.
“All face-to-face, classroom instruction in the basic education will start on Aug. 24,” Roque said. “The opening of classes in private schools may start earlier as long as there would be no face-to-face (interaction) until Aug. 24, 2020,” he added.
Roque said that the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases approved DepEd’s recommendation on the opening of classes for the basic education that shall be on Aug. 24, 2020. School year will end on Apr. 30, 2021.
Meanwhile, Secretary Martin Andanar has offered the use of government’s television and radio stations. They’re expanding the scope and the reach of television and radio stations to implement the program, the Learning Continuity Program, especially the distance learning, where TV and radio are main ways of transmitting learning,” Briones said in a virtual briefing.
At present, the government has two television networks; People’s Television Network (PTV-4) and the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC-13); and one radio network, The Philippine Broadcasting Service, which operates the radio brands Radyo Pilipinas 1, Radyo Pilipinas 2, FM1 and Capital FM2.
