THE COMMISSION on Higher Education is implementing full face-to-face classes in public and private higher education institutions.

CHED Chairman Prospero De Vera III said that all the schools that adopted face-to-face classes prior to the pandemic are going to use full face-to-face for the coming academic year.

“The ones (schools) that were continuing with the distance learning are those that are doing distance learning prior to the Covid19 pandemic,” De Vera added.

“So, practically all our schools are doing some form of face-to-face classes depending on the options that they have chosen pursuant to our policy of allowing them to do flexible learning.”

Meanwhile, De Vera said that the number of schools that have shut down is much lower than those in basic education.

He said the commission issued a new circular that allows schools to close if enrollment was low. They can reopen once it is economically feasible to them.

“Previously, if you close your programs and you reopen, all your degree programs will have to be evaluated by the commission again. And that takes time, usually takes a year to evaluate (it),” De Vera said.

“If I am not mistaken, it is in the policy of the commission that if you rehire at least 50 percent of your faculty, you can immediately reopen your degree programs once it is already economically feasible. This is to help HEIs (higher education institutions) that temporarily suspended their operations during the pandemic because of the economic situation,” he added.