Private schools in the Philippines are eyeing reopening schools in June. This will mean over 3 million students who attend any of the 3000 schools will be able to access school resources. The country’s education department has cast doubt on an early reopening of the schools.
President of the Federation of Association of Private Schools (FAPSA), Eleazardo Kasilag, has announced schools represented by his organization are considering reopening schools In June. The president indicated they had identified the multi-modal approach as the best-suited approach to reopening the schools.
This comes amidst a coronavirus lockdown in the country which led to the government ordering closure of all schools to avoid the spread of the virus. The country has already recorded more than 7,600 cases with 530 people succumbing from the virus.
Reopening of private schools
Eleazardo expressed confidence in the infrastructure they have put in place, detailing that students will be able to access the modal lessons provided by these schools. He also added that they will follow all the guidelines of the health ministry and will keep social distancing while studying.
He said the modular lessons will be installed in devices such as tablets and smartphones and made available to students. As a proof of concept of how the process will run, he highlighted that some private schools in the country have been using the modular approach for over a decade through tablets.
Training of teachers on how to use the technology will also be easy according to Eleazardo. He said teachers are already exposed to these technologies and will only need refresher courses to get them started.
Students and school staff return to normalcy
Eleazardo expressed optimism that private school teachers and staff under FAPSA would also be able to return to work and alleviate the financial strain they are having during the lockdown. The organization which represents more than 3,000 schools said reopening in June would also help the more than 3 million students who study in the organization’s schools to continue with their educational journey.
The Philippines Department of Education has already expressed doubt about the possibility of reopening the schools early. In an official statement, they said the schools would be reopened in August to ensure the safety of the students, and that coronavirus crisis has ended.
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