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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 1) – The head of the National Task Force against COVID-19, Carlito Gálvez Jr., is supporting movements to allow limited face-to-face classes in higher education.
Galvez believes that college students are self-aware enough to follow security protocols.
“Especially of the medical professions, I prefer to open medical schools as long as they are subject to inspection and certain protocols, “said Gálvez during an inspection at the Universidad Nuestra Señora de Fátima in the city of Valenzuela.
The Department of Education is also considering limited face-to-face classes in low-risk areas.
Gálvez, however, pointed out that it would be more difficult since the number of students is much higher. With more than 22 million kindergarten through high school students, the pandemic response chief said public schools may not have enough facilities to meet the rules on physical distancing.
The Commission on Higher Education says there are only about three million students at the college levels.
CHED is now working with universities like Our Lady of Fatima, which are modernizing their campuses to be able to comply with health protocols.
“Do not fear that by January there will be thousands of students returning to campus, that is not going to happen. Selective what we are going to do is because not all universities can modernize “, CHED President Prospero De Vera said.
[Translation: Don’t be afraid that by January, there will be thousands of students going back to the campuses, that’s not going to happen. We will be selective because not all universities can retrofit.]De Vera says that, in addition to Nuestra Señora de Fátima, Holy Angel University in Pampanga and some STI campuses also want to have limited face-to-face classes.
President Rodrigo Duterte initially said that he will not allow physical classes until a COVID19 vaccine is available.
It later approved a proposal by education officials to allow limited physical classes in areas that are considered to have low transmission of COVID19.
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