STUDENTS at the basic education level are not required to be vaccinated against Covid19 to take part in in-person classes, according to Ateneo de Manila University.

ADMU president Roberto Yap said the decision is in line with Joint Memorandum Circular No. 001, s.2022, issued on April 06 by the Department of Education and the Department of Health.

DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones earlier said immunization was not mandatory, but the agency was encouraging the children to get vaccinated.

“Effective immediately, BE students will no longer be required to be vaccinated against COVIID-19 in order to participate in face-to-face classes and other official school activities,” Yap said in a memorandum.

“Neither will they be required to take PCR tests as a pre-requisite to campus entry.”

Yap, however, said vaccination requirements remain the same for all other members of the community including parents, guardians, companions and drivers of BE students.

He noted the rest of health protocols and guidelines for campus access shall continue to be in force.

“BE students are still required to inform their School Unit Clinics of their vaccination status even if this is not a pre-requisite for campus entry, for proper monitoring of their overall health situation and to enable us to gather the aggregated vaccination data that we are required to submit to DepEd,” Yap said.

“I continue to urge our students and all other members of our university community to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and to maintain vigilance in observing our health and safety protocols, to ensure a safe return to face-to-face classes and on-site school activities,” he added.