PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte approved the expansion of face-to-face classes in the country despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Acting Presidential spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles, the Chief Executive approved the proposal of Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones on this.
In her recommendation to President Duterte, Briones said they have plans to expand the limited face-to-face classes in areas under Alert Level 1 and 2 in February, depending on the approval of the local government unit, the parents and stakeholders.
She said the DepEd and the Department of Health will collaborate in studying and assessing the proposed expanded face-to-face classes.
The DepEd chief also clarified that only those fully vaccinated teaching and non-teaching personnel will be allowed to join the program.
Briones pointed out that out of the 287 schools and the more than 15,000 students who joined the pilot implementation of the limited face-to-face classes last year, no case of COVID-19 was reported.