Palace: Enrollment in public schools to proceed on June 1

MANILA, Philippines — After President Rodrigo Duterte rejected resumption of classes until a vaccine for COVID-19 is available, the Palace on Wednesday said enrollment will push through on June 1 and the next school year will still open on August 24.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, in an interview with DZMM, said public school enrollment will proceed on June 1 as the government needs to prepare for schools opening.

“We are preparing for the possibility of both: Face-to-face and blended learning,” Roque said.

The Department of Education earlier said the next school year will open on August 24, 2020 and end on April 30, 2021. Following this, Education Secretary Leonor Briones earlier issued a department order setting the school enrollment from June 1 to 30. This includes early registration period.

But Duterte, in an address aired late Monday night, said he wants a vaccine first before classes could continue.

WATCH: Duterte not in favor of opening classes until vaccine is available

Roque later said Duterte only meant there would be no physical, face-to-face classes for as long as community quarantine is still in place, but physical classes may push through by August 24 if the country is already in the “new normal.”

'Blended learning'

The presidential spokesperson reiterated this in the radio interview. He said in a mix of English and Filipino: “What is sure is the schooling of students will proceed. The issue now is the situation on August 24.”

He said the government is looking at data if the country would have reached a “new normal” status by August 24, or when schools will open.

If the situation in the country has yet to reach “new normal” by August 24, classes will still proceed but will be conducted through “blended learning,” Roque said.

This would require the use of community TV and radio stations and the internet, he added.

It remains unclear what would constitute a “new normal” situation, but the Joint Task Force COVID-19 Shield, the quarantine enforcement arm of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, previously said that strict measures under the general community quarantine are the new normal. – Kristine Joy Patag