ASIDE from holding limited physical classes, the Department of Education is considering conducting in-person examinations in schools.

Education Assistant Secretary Malcolm Garma said that they are discussing the additional guidelines for face-to-face classes and other school activities.

“For example, ‘yung ating mga large-scale assessment katulad ng PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) o paglahok natin sa PISA. So, iyan po ‘yung isa sa mga kinokonsidera na puwede na po nating gawin sa loob ng eskwelahan,” he said.

In a separate statement, DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones said in-person graduation rites for School Year 2021-2022 are still possible.

Briones reiterated that she is optimistic that schools may be able to conduct their graduation rites depending on the Covid19 risk assessment in different regions in the country.

In anticipation of the physical graduation ceremony, the Office of the Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction is already planning and developing the guidelines on how to conduct the said activity.

“’Yung tanong na kung possible ang face-to-face graduation? Siyempre po kasi nga pinayagan na ang limited face-to-face, so ang ibig sabihin posible na rin ‘yung limited face-to-face graduation ceremonies,” Diosdado San Antonio, DepEd undersecretary, said.

San Antonio, however, said that the graduation ceremony will not be the same as before the pandemic. He gave assurances that proper health and safety protocols will be maintained throughout the ceremony.

More than 6,000 primary and secondary schools are eligible to reopen after two years of distance learning. Of this number, at least 4,295 have been allowed to join the expanded phase of F2F classes.