SENATOR Nancy Binay filed a resolution urging the Department of Education to create a Technical Working Group that will formulate guidelines on the implementation of limited face-to-face classes in private schools nationwide.

In Senate Resolution 890, Binay said it is necessary for the DepEd to discuss the concerns of private schools and come up with guidelines through a technical working group composed of key stakeholders from the public and private sectors.

This, she said, will ensure a responsive and collaborative approach for the resumption of face-to-face learning.

Binay said it is imperative for the DepEd to consider the differences between public and private schools in adopting policy measures on the gradual reopening of schools.

Joseph Noel Estrada, managing director of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines, reiterated his group’s request to have separate parameters or guidelines for pilot testing in the private education sector considering the difference in parameters and environment, particularly on consideration of space.

Estrada said that private schools continue to offer remote learning because there is no policy yet on the holding of face-to-face classes.

Binay said that the present value costs of face-to-face closure are estimated to be very high at P1.9 trillion for SY 2020-2021.

“A cost-benefit analysis of face-to-face closure of schools in the Philippines shows that school classroom closure has additional labor market consequences, both in terms of losses in employment of private school teachers and losses in income of parents who need to provide childcare,” Binay said.