DepEd says more schools to join pilot face-to-face classes

THE DEPARTMENT of Education (DepEd) announced Friday that more schools will join the pilot implementation of face-to-face classes with the approval of the Office of the President.

The department said that several local government units, including those in Metro Manila, have requested that their schools be included in the program with the decrease in COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases.

“Given the continuous improvement of the COVID-19 situation in many localities around the country, DepEd, in close coordination with the Department of Health (DoH), has assessed that there are more schools qualified to be included in the pilot list,” they said in a statement.

DepEd added that 484 out of 638 areas nationwide have passed their granular risk assessment by the DoH as minimal or low-risk.

They added that they will announce additional pilot schools for face-to-face classes once they are validated.

“The expansion of the number of pilot schools will allow a greater degree of experience among all our regions that will serve us well for the expanded phase of face-to-face classes,” DepEd said.

Pilot face-to-face classes will start in 100 public schools and 20 private schools on Nov. 15 and Nov. 22 respectively. — Russell Louis C. Ku