Sara Duterte plans to resume full face-to-face classes next school year

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte attends the flag-raising ceremony and addresses City Hall employees, thanking them for supporting her administration on Monday, 20 June 2022, a day after taking her oath as Vice President. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 20 June) – Incoming Vice President Sara Duterte, who will serve  as concurrent Education Secretary, is planning to resume full face-to-face classes in public schools during the opening of the new school year in August.

Duterte told reporters in a press conference held shortly after the flag-raising ceremony on Monday that she was eyeing to reopen all public school campuses in the country to students this coming school year.

Following the onslaught of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the country in the early 2020, the national government halted face-to-face classes and resorted to online and modular classes to prevent the spread of the highly infectious COVID-19. 

Limited face-to-face classes were allowed in the latter part of 2021 as the country started the inoculation program against the disease.

Duterte said she will meet outgoing Education Secretary Leonor Briones in Manila on June 25 to discuss the matter and the transition phase.

The outgoing mayor of Davao City vowed to consult various stakeholders as she takes the helm of the Department of Education (DepEd), saying inputs directly from them “will help her come-up with a sound decision.”

She said that as mayor of this city, she always listened to the stakeholders for suggestions, and that she intends to continue applying this in her leadership as Vice President and Education Secretary.

“The success of the City Government of Davao is precisely that we partner with the private sector, we consult the private sector, we consult the stakeholders for their suggestions that we can adopt at the City Government of Davao,” she said.

Duterte said she has yet to know which areas in the country need more intervention to improve access to education.

“I have not been briefed on the status of DepEd nationwide. I have not yet seen the data as of now,” she said.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando administered the oath-taking of Duterte as the 15^th Vice President of the country at 5:13 p.m. Sunday, 19 June, at the San Pedro Street here.

The Davao City Police Office estimated around 20,000 people attended Duterte’s oath-taking. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)