President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said blended learning will continue beyond October 31 but only in "very specific areas."
During their third Cabinet meeting, Marcos asked Education Secretary and Vice President Sara Dutertee about plans by DepEd to address several challenges such as the availability of classrooms, teachers, and other concerns.
He also asked Duterte to identify areas where blended learning would still be implemented.
"Ang gawin na lang natin [ay] i-identify saan ‘yung areas na magbe-blended learning para maka-focus tayo. Ihanda ‘yung mga devices at mga kailangan nila na noong pandemic hindi nasu-supply-an sa mga bata," Marcos was quoted in a Malacañang press release.
[What we should do is identify the areas where there should be blended learning so that we can focus on it. We should prepare the devices and other materials that the children need which were not supplied to them during the pandemic.]
"We continue with blended learning pero in very specific places lamang. As much as possible, face-to-face na talaga," he added.
This came after the issue of whether DepEd should do away with blended learning beyond October 31 was raised during the meeting, considering the challenges that the department is facing.
However, Duterte assured Marcos that they will prepare a plan on what to do beyond October 31.
Based on DepEd Order. No. 24, schools can only implement blended learning until October 31. This is just to help schools transition to the planned five-day face-to-face classes starting November 2.
Other issues mentioned by the President include internet connectivity and the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country, which is driven by the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus.
He was concerned that those issues might affect the implementation of in-person learning but he was nevertheless determined to proceed with the plan.
