DepEd: Enrollment Up To Parents

Parents will make the final decision if they will allow their children to continue their education in the upcoming school year, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said yesterday.

- Janvic Mateo

Amid concerns over the safety of students due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Briones said enrollment for next school year would be voluntary and they would respect the decision of the parents.

“We try to give them as much information as possible, so they will be in a better position to decide,” Briones said in an online press briefing.

She said the Department of Education (DepEd) is preparing various options that would allow the school year to proceed without necessarily requiring students to go to school.

These distance learning alternatives include using printed modules or delivering educational content through technology, such as internet, television or radio.

“Parents will decide whether they will keep their children for several months – maybe 10 months at the very least – or take advantage or utilize the various options that DepEd is offering so that education of the children can continue,” Briones said.

Addressing concerns regarding the opening of classes, Briones said their position is not in conflict with that of the President, who said on Monday that he prefers to have a vaccine first before allowing classes to resume.

“Obviously what he is referring to is the physical or face-to-face handling of classes,” Briones said in Filipino.

“We in DepEd also say that we will not allow holding of physical or face-to-face classes not just in areas where it is risky, but also in those that would not be able to comply with the standards of the Department of Health (DOH),” she said.