Eighty schools in Western Visayas, 60 of which are in Negros Occidental, have been recommended for the expanded limited face-to-face (F2F) classes when the region is de-escalated to Alert Level 1 or 2.
The entire Western Visayas is currently under COVID-19 Alert Level No. 3.
Limited F2F classes cannot be conducted in areas under Alert Level 3, they can only be held in areas under Alert Level 1 and 2, Assistant Secretary Malcolm S. Garma of the Department of Education said.
The limited F2F classes will already cover kindergarten to Grade 12, but will require the concurrence of local chief executives and consent of the parents, he said.
The 60 schools recommend for F2F classes in the following schools division offices are: Negros Occidental – 16, Silay City -16, Sagay City- 10, San Carlos City – 8, Cadiz City -4, Escalante City – 3, Himamaylan City -2, and Victorias City -1.
Recommended for limited F2F classes in the rest of Western Visayas are in Antique – 9 schools, Aklan – 4, Iloilo – 3, Passi – 2, Guimaras -1 and Roxas City -1.
DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones said they have identified about 6,000 schools nationwide for the F2F classes but most of them are in areas still under Alert Level 3.
Garma said only vaccinated teachers will be allowed to handle F2F classes.
He said private schools can also start F2F classes if they pass DepEd’s assessment and comply with its guidelines.
DepEd data shows that 90.81 percent or 76,755 of its 84, 518 personnel in Western Visayas are vaccinated against COVID -19.*
