Private schools in Cebu set to start classes

CEBU, Philippines —  Several private schools in Cebu City are set to kick off a new school year this month and in September after government clarified that private and non-DepEd (Department of Education) schools that have already started their classes, or are scheduled to start classes on August 24 or on other dates ahead of October 5, are allowed to proceed.

The government made the clarification after it decided to move the opening of classes to October 5 instead of the original schedule on August 24.

The college and graduate school levels at the University of Southern Philippines-Foundation started yesterday, Monday, while its basic education begins on August 24.

The Cebu Institute of Technology-University announced it will start classes tomorrow, Wednesday.

The University of San Carlos and Southwestern University are also set to start classes on August 24.

The University of the Visayas, on the other hand, said its college level will begin classes on September 14 while its basic education will start on October 5. This schedule will apply for all its campuses.

The University of Cebu, for its part, will open its classes on September 1 in all levels.

In line with this, UC’s chancellor, Candice Gotianuy, announced that the school is looking into renting out internet cafes in Cebu City and other areas in Cebu Province with large populations in an effort to help its students continue learning, especially those without internet access and gadgets for online learning.

These private schools have started orientations and webinars for its students, parents, faculty, and staff.

DepEd has allowed non-DepEd schools to go ahead of their schedule provided they are strictly using only distance learning modalities and that there are no face-to-face classes.

These schools are also required to submit relevant documents to DepEd’s regional director as required by DepEd Order No. 7, s. 2020 (School Calendar and Activities for School Year 2020-2021), as well as DepEd Order No. 13, s. 2020 and DepEd Order No. 17, s. 2020 on readiness assessment.

The government decided to move the opening of classes to October following the recommendation of Education Secretary Leonor Briones in light of the implications of the imposition of the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) in Metro Manila and in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan.

Although the rest of the country is already under GCQ or MGCQ, it was agreed that the rest will start on October 5, as well, to give more time for the preparations especially as majority of the students in public schools have preferred to do modular learning. — JMO (FREEMAN)