THE INTER-AGENCY Task Force against Covid19 proposed to President Rodrigo Duterte to allow three more college programs to conduct limited physical classes, the Commission on Higher Education said on Tuesday.

CHED chief Prospero De Vera III said these programs are engineering, maritime, and hotel and restaurant management.

“The IATF has endorsed the proposal to the President already. I hope the president will approve it so that we can expand the limited face-to-face classes to more courses that need hands-on experience,” De Vera said.

He said the move came after CHED found out that there was low Covid19 infection among medical and allied health students.

So far, the Commission has received less than 1 percent or only 0.3 percent report of Covid19 infection among those holding in-person classes.

“The data consist 41 out of 9,700 students who tested positive for Covid19, and 15 out of over 1,000 faculty members who also contracted the disease. All have already recovered,” De Vera said.

“A total of 76 percent of students attending in-person classes have been vaccinated, while 96 percent of faculty members were also fully immunized,” he added.

To date, CHED has allowed 118 universities and colleges offering health-related courses to resume physical classes.