THE DEPARTMENT of Education believes that the successful rollout of the limited face-to-face classes was the reason behind the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to support the expansion of in-person classes.

“We believe this high confidence from President Rodrigo Duterte and our stakeholders was due to the successful pilot implementation of face-to-face classes in 287 public and private schools nationwide from November 15 to December 20, 2021,” the department said in a statement.

DepEd reported that there was no recorded confirmed Covid19 case among the 15,683 students who participated in the pilot implementation of limited face-to-face classes.

Based on the evaluation conducted by the agency, the pilot implementation led to satisfactory results and positive feedback from our learners, teachers, and parents.

“We observed a high level of attendance and performance among learner participants. Our stakeholders felt safe against the virus throughout the implementation and were highly satisfied with the implementation of health and safety protocols and teaching and learning improvements brought by the face-to-face classes,” the agency said.

DepEd said the implementation of limited face-to-face classes also inculcated a culture of shared responsibility among the national government, parents and learners, the local government units, teachers, school officials and staff, and other stakeholders in ensuring everyone’s safety and welfare.

“We thank the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for assisting us in developing a responsive operational guideline on face-to-face learning delivery,” it said.

“We also thank the Department of the Interior and Local Government for encouraging LGUs to support the pilot implementation,” the agency added.