How ready is Western Visayas for face-to-face classes?

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The Department of Education-Region 6 (DepEd-6) is well into preparing for School Year 2022-2023, including the impending return of physical classes in November, according to its spokesperson on Friday.

DepEd-6 spokesperson Hernani Escullar Jr. told Daily Guardian on Air that they are continuously coordinating with the Schools Division Offices (SDOs) to prepare for the enrollment and the eventual opening of classes.

He added that they are also arduously preparing for the five-day, full-fledged in-person classes which is expected to start on November 2.

“The [DepEd] central office has given a transition period for our private and public schools so they can gradually transition towards [face-to-face] classes,” said Escullar.

There are three transition options under the DepEd’s plan, which are effective only between August 22 to October 31:

• Directly starting with in-person classes;
• Blended learning modality (3 days of physical sessions and 2 days of distance learning, then transitioning into 4 days of physical sessions and 1 day of distance learning); or
• Full distance learning, then 5-day in person classes starting on November 2.

“It’s clear that by November 2, we will be on 5-day in-person classes already not just in Western Visayas but in the whole of the country,” he said.

Escullar also said that COVID-19 vaccination is not required for learners and personnel to attend F2F classes, but he added that SDOs and local government units (LGUs) may ink deals to facilitate school-based vaccinations.

“The partnership between the LGUs and schools are at the level of the [SDOs] who may pursue these agreements since the schools are under the [SDOs]. But it is a campaign of the Department of Health to increase vaccination, so we support that as well,” he said.

“COVID vaccination is purely voluntary, but we in the [DepEd], for both teaching and non-teaching personnel who are unvaccinated, we continue to encourage them to get vaccinated because this is a way for us to be protected, not only for [the personnel] but also for their families as well,” he added.

In case a learner shows symptoms, they would be isolated and the school will automatically coordinate with their respective LGUs’ Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) or disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) office for their next measures.

DepEd Department Order No. 034 s. 2022, issued by Vice President Sara Duterte on July 11, stated that classes shall open this August 22 and will end on July 7, 2023.

Enrollment for the incoming S.Y. will start on July 25 and will end on the first day of class.

“We encourage [parents] to have their children enrolled as early as July so we don’t crowd our schools. We know that COVID-19 still exists around us, and to avoid congestion, we have to have the children enrolled as early as July,” he stated.

SEX EDUCATION

Escullar also spoke about the DepEd’s policy on mother tongue-based Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), which he said was based on Department Order No. 21 series of 2018.

“When we say comprehensive, it’s not just about sex education per se being taught, but there are provisions and guidelines that are needed to be followed, because the purpose of that policy is to promote the overall wellness of the Filipino adolescent and contribute better learning outcomes,” he explained.

“Learners would have access to adequate and appropriate information on healthcare education. When you look at it, the core subjects include the human body and human development, this includes sexual and reproductive body, puberty and adolescence, and personhood which refers to values, norms, and life skills,” he added.

As to the mother tongue aspect of the subject, learners from Kinder to Grade 3 would be taught more about personal hygiene and cleanliness of the surroundings for the youth which would be appropriate to their age.

Those in the levels of junior and senior high school would be taught on the more intricate topics including the reproductive system, and adolescent and reproductive health, among others.

He said that the CSE core topics will also be integrated into other subjects including Music, Art, Physical Education, and Health, Araling Panlipunan, Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao, Science, and Personal Development.

Teachers would be trained on CSE, and all visual aids to be used would undergo approval of the DepEd central office in Pasig City.

“The [DepEd] assures that all of the teachers who would be teaching CSE would be properly trained. There will be seminars and other activities. We know that this is a sensitive topic, but we know that our teachers are all capable,” he stated.

He also said that the DepEd is seeking to build partnerships with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) in relation to the risky behaviors related to poor reproductive outcomes.

Sex education has been a hot topic on local media after the POPCOM-Region 6 suggested that schools in the region should teach CSE using mother-tongue based instruction, or the use of Hiligaynon, Karay-a, or Akeanon languages.