Finally!
After nearly two years of online and modular learning, kids in Laguna province will now be able to see their schoolmates and teachers again in the proper setting - that is, face-to-face classes.
Following the downgrading of Laguna province to the least restrictive Alert Level 1 status, parents and children are now anticipating a return to more proper schooling under the new normal.
In fact, some schools in Laguna province – mostly in the eastern portion, such as the towns of Pagsanjan and Pila – have already returned to face-to-face classes last week.
Different situation
However, the situation is different in the western portion – the cities of San Pedro, Biñan and Sta. Rosa – which have been the epicenters of the Covid-19 pandemic especially during the early days in 2020.
This risk factor has had some parents questioning whether their cities are really prepared to return to the classroom setting, although others agree that schools should have been opened up long ago.
‘Resbakuna for Kids’
Most education officials interviewed by OpinYon Laguna believe that their respective cities are more than ready to return to face-to-face classes this year.
With the kickoff of the “Resbakuna” Covid-19 vaccination program for children aged five to 11 last month – and the continuing vaccination drive for teens aged 12 and 17 – they say the time has come for students to get back to the classroom.
“We are expecting that face-to-face classes will resume in full-scale on Academic Year 2022-2023," Dr. Edmil Recibe, Biñan City Education Office Head, said in a message to OpinYon Laguna.
With Biñan City leading the way in aggressively vaccinating its residents against Covid-19, Recibe says he believes that it's now safe for the city's children to go back to school.
Fully vaccinated
"The city government of Biñan was one of the cities in Laguna which prioritized the Vax for Youth and Vax for Kids program," he added. "Having said this, the majority of students in Biñan are fully vaccinated."
The cities of Biñan and San Pedro have also embarked on programs to rehabilitate the school buildings that have been left unused since the pandemic began two years ago.
"During the Covid-19 surge, the rehabilitation and construction of DepEd school buildings and other facilities were simultaneously held in various DepEd schools...to ensure that these buildings are still in good condition and to address the needs of various DepEd schools," Recibe added.
Voluntary participation
Meanwhile, San Pedro City Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Lourdes Bermudez reported that one school in the city had already started face-to-face classes, while three more will resume classes on March 14.
Twelve schools were given the initial endorsement to resume face-to-face classes, while 12 others are "90 percent logistically prepared" and are now waiting for on-site inspection and validation.
Bermudez added that participation in face-to-face classes will be "voluntary" and that "although the schools welcome all the students to attend on-campus classes, the final discretion lies with the parents and guardians of the students."
"SDO – San Pedro is committed to providing the utmost support and technical assistance to all the public elementary and secondary schools in the City of San Pedro in order to guarantee the quality of basic education services adopting all viable learning modalities," she said.
Confident parents
With the start of the Resbakuna program for children and teens, more and more parents are now confident that their children are protected against Covid-19 - an important factor for them to allow their children to go back to school.
"Now that many people, including kids, are already vaccinated against Covid-19, I think that it is already safe to have them go back to normal schooling," Grace Dilla of Biñan City, a mother of two children - one in Grade 1 and another in Grade 2 - told OpinYon Laguna.
"In fact, my children are done with the first dose [of the vaccine], so yes, I will allow them to go back to school," she added.
The prospect of getting back to school have been a motivation for many parents in Laguna province to have their children vaccinated against Covid-19.
This, despite the clarification made recently by Education Secretary Leonor Briones that vaccination will not be required but "encouraged" among students.
“Are we requiring children to have vaccinations before they participate (in face-to-face classes)? Not necessarily. It’s not required. It is voluntary because the parents will make that decision. But of course, we would encourage (it),” Briones was quoted as saying during a recent briefing.
Private schools
One sector that has also been hard-hit by the pandemic are private schools in Laguna, many of which have decided to close their doors permanently due to low enrolment and the uncertainties brought by the pandemic.
However, other school operators, like Francis Abanilla of San Pedro City’s San Lorenzo School, are confident that their schools could recover and resume face-to-face classes this year.
“We are still capable of continuing our operations for next school year and delivering the quality education that we are committed to deliver to our students whether we are onsite or online,” Abanilla said in a message to OpinYon Laguna.
In preparation for the expected return to face-to-face classes, some private schools have stepped up their Covid-19 vaccination drive for students and staff.
"Our teachers are fully vaccinated and we make sure that all classrooms are clean and sanitized," an official of the Ignite Learning Center in Sta. Rosa City said. "We are also currently conducting surveys to parents on their opinion about face-to-face classes."
First-time blues
Meanwhile, educators say another important issue that they have to face now is how to ease an entire generation of students who have undergone online and modular learning inside their homes for two years back into the classroom environment.
This is especially important for children who have started preschool or Grade 1 under the modular/online system of learning and who will now step into classrooms for the very first time.
“There is still a need to encourage the parents and teach the students to unlearn the complacency they have acquired from the two-year distance learning,” Abanilla told OpinYon Laguna. “And we really have to start with that as early as this year.”