SENATOR Christopher ‘Bong’ Go is not in favor of the conduct of face-to-face classes until herd immunity is achieved.

He stressed that the health and safety of students and teachers should be given priority.

“Ako naman po, ‘di rin ako sasang-ayon sa face-to-face classes hanggang ‘di nababakunahan ang majority ng population. Alam naman natin na may new strain ng virus. So, unahin natin ang kalusugan ng bawat bata, bawat Filipino before anything else,” Go said.

He added that the welfare of students, teachers and non-teaching personnel must be carefully taken into consideration in making a decision as to when face-to-face classes must be resumed.

While he recognized the challenges faced particularly by poor students under the blended learning set-up, Go said that the safety of everyone in school remains the primordial interest.

Last year, the senator appealed to education authorities to utilize various approaches and tools in order to lessen the burden of students who cannot afford to buy gadgets and those residing in remote places without or with poor internet connectivity that limit their participation in online classes.

The Department of Education has proposed the holding of limited face-to-face classes but its implementation was delayed because of the surge in Covid19 cases.