THE Education department of Sunday said more than 2,000 public elementary and senior high school (SHS) students in Metro Manila are set to return to in-person classes on Monday.
The students — who are in Kindergarten to Grade 3 and SHS — come from the 28 schools across the capital region that were selected to join the pilot phase of in-person classes amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.
“Isa po tayo sa pinakahuli [na nag-face-to-face classes] dahil kabababa lang ng ating alert level sa level 2,” Wilfredo Cabral, officer-in-charge of the DepEd’s office for the undersecretary of human resources, said in an interview with ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo.
The capital region eased to Alert Level 2 in early November as the number of COVID-19 infections began to drop.
The 28 Metro Manila schools are part of 177 schools that were added for the pilot phase, which began in mid-November in 120 public and private schools.
“Iyan po (mga paaralan) ay dumaan sa masusing paghahanda. Lahat ito ay sumunod doon sa patakaran na kailangang ma-achieve iyong ating safety seal using the school safety assessment tool,” said Cabral.
Based on the DepEd’s list, of the capital region’s 17 localities, only Pateros will not join the pilot run.
Cabral reiterated that protocols are in place in case a student or personnel tests positive for COVID-19, with some barangays even providing ambulances near the school.
“Kung mayroon lalabas na kaso, whatever variant, stop po agad ang ating implementation [ng face-to-face],” he said.
The pilot is the first of the government’s three-phased plan to reopen basic education schools after nearly two years of closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students who are not participating in the pilot run will continue to study at home through distance learning.
