Mayor Sara Duterte on Tuesday stressed that the opening of classes on Aug. 24 no longer involves face-to-face classroom instruction on the recommendation of the Department of Education.
Duterte said the DepEd Usec. Revsee Escobedo explained to her that teachers and students will not be allowed to report to the schools. Instead, the classes would be a mixture of online and offline modules for the school year.
“Teachers will be required to report to their respective schools for the orientation of the new modalities for teaching in June, which are online, offline, and homeschooling,” she said.
At the moment, the DepEd is doing a quality-assurance check on the distance-learning module that the Davao City Schools Division launched in December 2019.
“The distance-learning modules will be reproduced for the far-flung areas, while those who can access the Internet will have classes online,” she further said.
The mayor also said that there will be online training for school heads and teachers in June while the private schools will be guided on the homeschooling program.
Also, she confirmed that there are schools in the city that will open their classes in June.
“Face-to-face classes are not allowed and it is also illegal for children to report to schools and universities. Opening of classes means classes will start at home,” she said.
The mayor further stressed that she could not afford to delay the education of children given the unstable situation brought about by the COVID-19 infection. She added that the new educational modalities must be implemented to ensure the start of the school year.
