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The Department of Education (DepEd) will receive virtually on Monday (October 5) more than 22.5 million students enrolled in public schools for the school year (SY) 2020-2021, as the National Police assured that it has established its presence and assistance centers near or within learning institutions across the country.
The deployment of personnel, in addition to the establishment of police assistance centers, will complement its Covid-19 response operations through quarantine checkpoints (QCPs), the PNP said in a statement Sunday.
The Secretary of Education, Leonor Magtolis Briones, thanked the more than 24.27 million enrollees who decided to return to school despite the challenges. There were 24,273,533 million enrolled in basic education for public and private schools combined across the country for this SY as of Oct. 2 data from DepEd. For private schools, there were 2,166,059 million enrolled or 50.32 percent; while 394,462 have enrolled in the Alternative Learning System or 53.31 percent of those enrolled last year.
Briones said that some of these young students even wrote to her saying, “Secretary, I want to go back to school. I want to be in a class again. “
He also thanked 48 million to 50 million parents “who accept the fact and urge us to continue teaching our students.”
“[This is a celebration, this is a] declaration of victory. A statement of continuity of education, whatever the challenges we face. Education will continue and [our] children will continue to learn, and [our] parents will continue to support us. Our government, our teachers, we are all involved in this effort and this will be the greatest victory of all at this time of the pandemic, ”Briones had said in one of his press conferences.
DepEd had resisted persistent calls from some quarters for an “academic freeze” as they cited the unprecedented challenges posed to schools, teachers, students, and parents from the shift to multimodal learning to replace in-school encounters as precaution against Covid -19. Briones, a former teacher, said suspending the school year would do students more harm than good.
Members of the DepEd executive committee and the directors of services and offices will be in full operation on Monday and are scheduled to provide live updates on the implementation of distance learning on the first day of classes at the field offices or schools they will visit. .
Panels related to the opening of classes and the implementation of the Basic Education-Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP), which include Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE), Health and Safety Protocols and Educational Continuity will also be presented.
The OBE panel will be led by Undersecretaries Jesús Lorenzo Mateo and Revsee Escobedo, with Regional Directors Wilfredo Cabral (Calabarzon), Ramir Uytico (Region 8) and Arturo Bayocot (Region 10) ready to provide field updates.
DepEd Region 2 will hold its regional opening ceremony, broadcast on RBC Cable Network and Radyo Pilipinas DWPE starting at 6 am, with the live broadcast posted on the regional pages and SDO FB. The Philippine Information Agency also pledged to post the show on its widely subscribed FB page, while local media partners were also asked to do the same.
Regional Director Estela Leon-Cariño, EdD, CESO IV, echoed Briones when she said that the opening of classes on October 5 will be a day of “victory” for Filipino, basic education and LCP apprentices.
“The opening ceremony is about telling the nation how powerful love and unity can be. It will send the very strong and unequivocal message that even in the face of a pandemic, education can continue because the whole village is coming together on behalf of the student, ”added Cariño.
“We have implemented innovations to respond to the need for adequate, accurate and timely information. We gave regular updates through the following program on FB Live Stream: Spoxes Speak with Usec. Annalyn Sevilla, DepEd Dos Ayos, Hoy con RD Estela, a Talk Show, PAUdora’s Box, PAUwerful Views-Leaderspeak and Weekly Media Briefer. All of this helped us reach out to our clients and media partners, ”said PAU Director Amir M. Aquino.
Meanwhile, Region 10 held its pre-opening classes on September 30 in all 14 divisions.
Region 10 Director Bayocot said the event highlighted DepEd’s collaboration with all stakeholders.
“We have prepared our Basic Education Learning Continuity Plans to address our educational needs in the ‘New Landscape of Learning’. Thanks to our partners for generously assisting us in the implementation of all of our LCPs in the region, ”added Bayocot.
Bayocot cited teachers who “have selflessly and courageously offered their services even to those who have apparently been unreached, have financial difficulties and are in difficult circumstances.”
PNP Clock
The PNP, meanwhile, said it “remains vigilant, with police visibility and its assistance centers,” ready to support all stakeholders in distance education across the country.
“In the event of clarification on a particular place of jurisdiction, it will be the police office that will deal with it. But as a whole [the] PNP maintains its visibility and assistance centers, ”added PNP.
The PNP said it will enforce the Inter-Institutional Task Force (IATF) rules in relation to Covid-19.
“All regular police work is still at hand, for the maintenance of peace and order is our main task as a daily effort,” said the PNP.
