マニラの教育省が、1月の授業開催を選択した学校は安全な再開のために厳重に注意すべきだろうと述べた。
また、試験的に学習を始めるために細心の注意を払って再開の方針を進めているという。

これに対し、教育者団体ACTは慎重な計画なしに学校を再開することは災害を新たに引き起こす可能性があると言い、ACTは明確なガイドラインなどがなく、調査結果もない中で試験的に一部のグループで授業を再開することは学生たちを危険にさらす行為だとして全面的に反対の姿勢だ。しかしフィリピン学生組合は、学生の学習過程で対面授業は重要なので授業の開催を支持しているが、組合は学生と教師の安全を確保するために政府に要請してる。

もはや、二律背反の状態だ。
教育省が学生組合の意見を汲み取り試験的に再開しようとすれば、教育者団体が新たな災害の危険があると言い、学生組合はそれらの危険性を考えた上での対策を教育省に求めるが教育省の試験的な対策には教育者団体が否定的と各団体の意見をすべて肯定的に組み上げることは難しい状況にある。

学習のプロセスの中で対面授業は大切だが、感染拡大防止や個人の安全のためにもどこか落としどころが在ればいいのだが、現状も増加の一途を辿っている中で１月中の試験的な授業の開催はやや無謀といえる。

今後の教育省の動きに注目したい。

以下、ABS-CBN NEWSより抜粋

How will pilot in-person classes look like in January?

MANILA – The Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday allayed concerns over holding limited in-person classes in January, saying it would exercise “extreme caution” for the safe reopening of select schools as the COVID-19 pandemic persists.

Education Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan, in an interview with ANC’s “Matters of Fact,” said they would enforce stringent measures to ensure the safety of students and teachers.

“We are taking this forward with extreme caution to start with pilot study,” he said.

Malaluan added, “Even as there is some level of risk, that can be mitigated and reduced to a minimum if you will exercise all the known precautions.”

1,114 schools ‘nominated’ for dry run of face-to-face classes next month
Over 1,100 out of 61,000 schools have been nominated to participate in the dry run, which is expected to take place on Jan. 11 to 23.

“We will trim it down based on typology, of geographic areas, grade levels, as well as types of programs, so we can have a representative set from which we can draw lessons and conclusions to inform the final recommendation that will be made by the secretary to the President and [his] Cabinet towards the end of January,” he said.

HOW WILL IT LOOK LIKE?

First, participating schools must be under modified general community quarantine (MGQC), the most relaxed measure in the country’s 4-level community quarantine scheme, Malaluan said.

Those included in the pilot testing must have support from local government units (LGUs) and consent from parents. A pre-orientation will be conducted among students and teachers prior to the dry run, he added.

Before students and teachers will be allowed inside school premises, they will undergo a symptoms check at the gates. Strict physical distancing and face covering rules will be implemented inside classrooms.

Classroom teaching will not be for the whole day, Malaluan said, as the agency would implement staggered schedules. Flag-raising ceremonies will also be prohibited.

Students will then have to go straight home after their classes, he added. Among those chosen for the pilot test are senior high school students under the technical-vocational-livelihood track and learners struggling with distance learning.

Malaluan said they were pushing for the resumption of limited face-to-face classes as part of the blended learning system. This is also in response to the appeal of LGUs seeking physical classes because they are low-risk for COVID-19 spread, he added.