THE government has issued clearance to selected schools in low-risk areas to conduct a two-week dry-run of face-to-face classes.
In a news conference, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the dry run will be monitored by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the COVID-19 National Task Force, which hinted on commencing the trial from January 11 until the 23rd of the same month.
After the two-week dry-run, Roque said that government experts would validate reports on the outcome of the pilot face-to-face classes and evaluation for final recommendation to President Rodrigo Duterte.
The government has yet to pick on which schools would be picked as pilot sites of the dry-run. However, DepEd has provided a December 18 deadline for regional directors to submit to Education Secretary Leonor Briones a list of nominated schools.
Briones will then choose the pilot schools on December 28, to be followed by orientation, mobilization and readiness confirmation of these schools. The DepEd chief said some rural areas have expressed interest in conducting face-to-face classes.
DepEd said it has already created a list of schools nominated to conduct a dry run for the resumption of face-to-face classes in areas with low risk for COVID-19, but Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla said they will still have to evaluate these schools in terms of their readiness for the face-to-face classes.
On Monday, Duterte and the Cabinet approved the DepEd’s recommendation to hold a dry run.
The Palace, however, emphasized that face-to-face classes would be voluntary, thus a parent’s permit must be submitted for the student to participate.