VP Sara says sorry to teachers for classes have to start on Aug. 22

 VP Sara says sorry to teachers for classes have to start on Aug. 22

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said classes have to start on Aug. 22 despite calls to move the school opening to September.

“This has been approved by [President Marcos] … so we will proceed with it,” Duterte said.

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) earlier opposed the opening of classes next month, stating teachers needed more time to rest and prepare for the coming school year.

“Classes for the school year 2021-2022 ended on June 24, but many teachers up until now are required to report to their schools physically,” the TDC said.

“In the end, teachers will not really have any rest” because they need to attend to paperwork and remedial classes, it added.

Duterte said the DepEd and Marcos were open to discussions about enrollment problems because of the mandatory face-to-face classes policy, “but for now, this is what was approved: [Schools] have three options and then we transition to five days in-person classes.”

Since vaccination will not be required of students attending physical classes, there should be “no segregation and discrimination” against unvaccinated learners, she added.

“We see no problem with the commingling of unvaccinated and vaccinated students in classrooms because when they go outside, they will still commingle,” Duterte said.

There will be no limit on the number of students allowed to attend face-to-face classes.

“We did not put an exact class size because the situation varies in every school,” Duterte said.