THE Silliman University may not fully implement face-to-face classes in all its degree programs for safety reasons, an official said.

“Honestly and with all candidness, I don’t think that in the second semester, the face-to-face modality will really be in full swing,” Dr. Earl Jude Paul Cleope, vice president for Academic Affairs, said.

Cleope noted that the implementation of in-person classes must be studied well to ensure the health and safety of the academic community.

“Because we understand that the initial assessment is only 50 percent of the usual capacity will be allowed, but considering that students in Silliman do not only come from Dumaguete and Negros but they come from all over the Philippines and even beyond, this will really have to be studied well.  We are waiting for specific and definite guidelines from the proper agencies of government,” he said.

Cleope said that school officials will also have to hold a dialogue with the student government regarding the matter.

“My worry is that we open and then all of a sudden there is a surge and then we go back to Alert Level 4 or 5,” Cleope pointed out.

“Not all courses and all levels will be included immediately, only those that were approved by CHED when they issued a memorandum order, which included the College of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Laboratory and Sciences, Institute of Rehabilitative Sciences, and College of Nursing,” he said.

The Inter-Agency Task Force Against Covid19 has allowed the resumption of physical classes in universities and colleges in areas below Alert Level 3.

Only vaccinated students, teachers and support staff are allowed to participate in in-person classes.