Private schools allowed to open classes ahead of Oct. 5 – DepEd

As long as there are no face-to-face classes, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Saturday clarified that private schools and other non-DepEd schools will be allowed to continue or proceed with their respective school opening.

In an advisory, DepEd said “private or non-DepEd 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 provided they are strictly using only distance learning modalities and that there are no face-to-face classes.”

DepEd issued the clarification after conferring with the Office of the Executive Secretary on the applicability of the President’s decision to private schools and other non-DepEd schools.

Data from DepEd showed that as of August 5, there are 1,277 private schools that have already started their operations ahead of the Aug. 24 school opening. There are also 2,195 private schools that are scheduled to start their classes on Aug. 24; 26 schools before the first week of September; 15 schools on the first week of September, and at least 75 schools without definite date yet.

DepEd said that private schools that will open ahead of the Oct. 5 schedule will be required to “submit the relevant documents” to the 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.

On Friday, Education Secretary Leonor Briones formally announced the decision of President Duterte to defer the school opening for School Year (SY) 2020-2021 from August 24, 2020 to October 5, 2020.

Duterte approved the new schedule after Education Secretary Leonor Briones recommended the postponement of school opening 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.

The latest school opening deferment is pursuant to Republic Act No. 11480, which amended RA No. 7797, providing that the President, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Education, may set a date later than the last day of August for the start of the school year in the country or parts thereof in the event of a declaration of a state of emergency or state of calamity.

Unsure whether or not private schools are covered by Aug. 24 school opening deferment, the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) had earlier appealed to the President to exempt the private schools that are “ready for school opening.”

The organization, composed of more than 2,500 educational institutions nationwide, said the private education sector has been“tirelessly preparing at the onset of this pandemic and massive efforts and solutions were made to address the learning crisis.”