SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Saturday renewed his support to the programs of the Department of Education to ensure the safe resumption of face-to-face classes for the more than 28 million learners in the country.

“As Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio wraps up her first 100 days as Secretary of Education, I would like to express my strong support to the efforts of the Department of Education,” Gatchalian said.

“Makalipas ang mahigit dalawang taon ng pandemya ng Covid19, hindi na natin maaaring ipagpaliban pa ang ligtas na pagbabalik ng ating mga kabataan sa kanilang mga paaralan, lalo na’t ang kawalan ng face-to-face classes ay inaasahang magdudulot ng matinding pinsala sa edukasyon at sa ating ekonomiya,” he added.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education said the safe reopening of schools and the implementation of learning recovery measures, however, are only among the first steps towards the recovery of the basic education sector and to reverse the crisis that hounds it.

“Even before Covid19 led to the shift to distance learning, our learners were already struggling to master basic competencies as shown by international large-scale assessments,” he explained.

“As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, I will continue to work with DepEd and all other stakeholders to address our most urgent concerns,” the senator assured.

The senator further said they will be convening the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the K to 12 Program and the Second Congressional Commission on Education in order to identify challenges and propose reforms in the basic education sector.

“Addressing the education crisis is no easy task, but I am confident that the Vice President will be able to maximize her political capital to ensure the implementation of much-needed reforms,” Gatchalian further stressed.