Palace: Education of 18M students should not be derailed by coronavirus

Published July 7, 2020, 11:53 AM

The education of children should not be derailed even as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic, Malacañang said after more than 18 million students enrolled for the coming school year.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said parents should grab the opportunity to enroll their children after the government extended the enrollment period in public schools until July 15.

“Na-extend naman po ang deadline ng enrollment, you have until July 15 to enroll your children. Hindi po dapat matigil ang ating edukasyon. Bagama’t mayroong COVID-19, mayroon naman blended lessons na gagawin (The deadline for enrollment has been extended. You have until July 15 to enroll your children. The education of our children should not stop. Although COVID-19 persists, we will implement blended lessons),” he said.

Citing information from Education Secretary Leonor Briones, Roque said more than 18 million students have so far enrolled as the government moves to implement alternative learning methods in lieu of physical classes.

Of the 18,239,528 enrollees, Roque said 17,401,529 are public school students while 818,137 are private school students.

Education authorities had earlier projected around 22 million students will enroll for school year 2020-2021, lower than the 27.7 million students last year mainly due to the economic impact of the pandemic.

Classes in basic education are scheduled to begin on August 24, 2020 and end on April 30, 2012. Blended learning, including online classes and distance learning, will be implemented instead of face-to-face classes for the health and safety of students amid the coronavirus outbreak.

President Duterte had said the resumption of physical classes will only happen when the world finds a vaccine or a cure for COVID-19.

SOURCE: https://mb.com.ph/2020/07/07/palace-education-of-18m-students-should-not-be-derailed-by-coronavirus/