President Rodrigo Duterte extended his apologies to parents for not allowing face-to-face classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ako naman nanghingi ng patawad sa inyong lahat sa nanay, tatay kasi delayed ang edukasyon ng mga bata. Patawarin niyo po ako kasi di ko kaya magbigay ng pahintulot na hindi na sila normal sa eskwelahan,” Duterte said in his pre-recorded weekly briefing with Cabinet officials.
“Kasi kung madisgrasyahan, buhay ito. Ang ano nito ang is delayed lang ang education ng bata pero it will normalize one of these days but I cannot gamble with the life of children mahirap yan kasi ako mananagot lahat,” he added.
The President further explained that he cannot allow in-person classes until he gets a “clear picture” of “how COVID-19 works” on other people’s health.
Duterte is also concerned about the more contagious Delta variant that could also infect children during physical classes.
“Kasi kung ang mga bata nandyan baka mahawa tsaka dadating itong D (Delta variant) na sinabing mas aggressive and more fatal than COVID-19 yung mother ano niya,” said Duterte.
Duterte apologizes to parents for not allowing face-to-face classes
The Department of Education (DepEd) earlier said it assesses around 300 schools that would join the dry run of limited face-to-face classes.
According to Diosdado San Antonio, DepEd’s undersecretary for curriculum and instruction, home-based learning would continue to be an option for students even post-pandemic.
DepEd eyes to open the school year 2021-2022 under enhanced blended learning in either August or September.
DepEd issued the statement after President Rodrigo Duterte disapproved of the proposed limited face-to-face classes in areas with a low risk of COVID-19 transmission.
“We will release the final school calendar for School Year 2021-2022 once we get the final approval of the President. We are proposing that he choose among either August 23, 2021, September 6, 2021, or September 13, 2021,” the DepEd said.
“We are hopeful that our partners and stakeholders will come together once again in this endeavor and work with us to serve the interest of our Filipino learners,” it added.
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