THE COMMISSION on Higher Education made it clear colleges and universities are not required to offer limited face-to-face classes especially if they are not yet ready.

“Ito ay option or nasa sa eskuwelahan at sa mga estudyante kung gusto nilang mag-lesson sa face-to-face,” CHED Chairman Prospero De Vera III clarified in a briefing over the weekend.

De Vera noted the commission has no particular target when it comes to the number of schools that will be allowed to resume onsite learning.

“Wala tayong target, ang target natin ay as much as possible as many schools will apply, pero hindi natin mapipilit dahil hindi ho ito sapilitan, hindi mandatory,” he stressed.

For schools to resume in-person classes, De Vera said they need to apply first so CHED and the Department of Health can inspect their facilities.

“Kung hindi mag-a-apply iyong mga eskwelahan eh ‘di hindi sila mai-inspect, hindi makakapag-face-to-face ang kanilang mga estudyante. So, depende sa mga eskuwelahan kung handa na silang mag-limited face-to-face,” he pointed out.

Last January, President Rodrigo Duterte allowed the conduct of limited F2F classes for medicine and allied health courses.

Since then, over 180 higher education institutions had been authorized to conduct physical classes offering at least 300 programs.

More schools have requested to be allowed to conduct in-person classes since President Duterte approved limited classes for other courses such as Engineering and Technology, Hospitality/Hotel and Restaurant Management, Tourism/Travel Management, Marine Engineering and Marine Transportation.

“Some universities have started retrofitting facilities and applied to be included in the next batch of face-to-face classes. We will see in the next couple of weeks how many will be inspected and authorized,” De Vera said.