THE most visually apparent sign of the last ECQ lockdowns was the closure of all schools. All of a sudden, vehicular traffic in Metro Manila became thin and almost non-existent. The students from all levels of education were reduced to studying at home, with computers, tablets and cellphones as tools. For kids who have had one year or two of in-person school experience, going back to school and seeing their friends, classmates and teachers again in the flesh is a dream waiting to be fulfilled.
With the National Capital Region shifting to Alert Level 2, plans are being rushed to reopen the schools and normalize the conduct of classes through in-person learning. Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion wanted to bring students back inside schools as a way to further push the country back to normalcy amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
‘There is good sense in getting ready to move the nation forward in a post-pandemic status, and reopening of schools for face-to-face classes is part of this broader call for Filipinos to learn to live with COVID-19.’
In a statement, Concepcion suggested to the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to physically reopen schools now that more minors are being vaccinated against COVID-19.
“Now that the country is vaccinating (children aged) 12-17 and 5-11, we will push the (IATF) to open our schools, provided that both students and teachers are already fully vaccinated,” he said. According to Concepcion, bringing back students to school should be prioritized, provided that they are inoculated and belong to households with a 100 percent vaccination rate or have no unvaccinated senior citizens at home.
There is good sense in getting ready to move the nation forward in a post-pandemic status, and reopening of schools for face-to-face classes is part of this broader call for Filipinos to learn to live with COVID-19.
Concepcion, Education Secretary Leonor Briones and Socio-economic Planning Secretary Karl Chua are correct in pointing out that the Philippines cannot afford a long-term effect of “less than ideal” quality of education due to the online learning modality being implemented by the Department of Education. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipino children have been lagging behind their regional counterparts in Science, Mathematics and Reading, and the pandemic even widened the gap.
Reopening of schools will also help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) to recover from losses incurred during the two-year height of the pandemic.
School administrations, teachers and principals should be strict in implementing approved health protocols so as not to jeopardize the transition.
