Private schools eye early opening

MANILA, Philippines — Some private schools may start classes ahead of the Aug. 24 schedule set by the Department of Education (DepEd) for public elementary and high schools.

Joseph Noel Estrada, managing director of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), said 60 percent of their members have manifested readiness to open the school year between June and August using flexible learning options.

“This number will go up as private schools continue to prepare,” he told The STAR. “This flexibility has long been recognized by DepEd and we expect it to be unchanged.”

Eleazardo Kasilag, president of the Federation of Associations of Private School Administrators, cited Republic Act 7977 that allows opening of classes anytime between the first Monday of June and the last day of August.

He noted that some private schools have the capacity to adopt flexible learning options such as online-based education.

The Interagency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases has yet to issue guidelines on the opening of classes this year.

Last Tuesday, Education Secretary Leonor Briones announced that public schools are scheduled to start classes on Aug. 24.

She clarified, however, that this may not necessarily involve a return to face-to-face setup, saying they are preparing to adopt flexible learning options such as using the internet, television, radio or printed materials to enable home-based education.

Private schools were previously given the flexibility to schedule their opening of classes anytime between the allowable dates.

It is still unclear if there would be restrictions given the current public health emergency.

In addition to the date of school opening, Estrada said they are interested in school calendar details that may be allowed by DepEd in terms of events and school activities, as well as the minimum class days.

“More importantly, new guidelines ought to be issued amending DepEd Order 21, Series of 2019 which requires private schools to secure prior permit from the DepEd regional offices before they can use flexible learning options,” he said.

“This administrative regulatory barrier should be removed or relaxed as the national health emergency necessitates schools to move to flexible learning options, otherwise learning would stop,” he added.

COCOPEA, which represents five associations of education institutions, earlier warned of the social and economic impacts of delaying the school opening in private schools.

“Private schools are trying their best to keep their teachers, faculty and school personnel by paying salaries despite dwindling resources,” the group said in a previous statement.

“Our survey shows that many of the private schools would no longer be able to maintain their payroll beyond April 30. After this date, many private schools would resort to extreme measures to avoid closure, such as placing school personnel on floating status without pay,” it added.

Boost to small telcos

With the education system expected to partly shift to online learning, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is looking at ways to boost small telecommunications companies to connect more homes to the internet.

In an interview with The Chiefs aired on Cignal TV’s One News on Thursday night, DICT Undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said they would lower the spectrum user fees charged to small players in the provinces to encourage them to provide internet service to communities.

“If we lower the spectrum users fee just for those frequencies being used for (online connectivity), this will encourage more small players, small ISPs (internet service providers) to connect homes to the internet much faster than the larger telcos because they are already in the locality,” he said.

“Maybe before the end of May this would be lowered so that now we have more ISPs and small telcos connecting homes to the internet,” he added.

Rio, when he was acting secretary of the agency in 2018, issued an order directing the National Telecommunications Commission to review and make appropriate adjustment to the spectrum users fee for frequencies used in the Philippines.

In the same interview, the DICT official also discussed their program to convert internet cafés into digital classrooms and workplaces.

Plastic free

Meanwhile, youth leaders from around the world reaffirmed their commitment to a plastic-free future as a group of environmentalists digitally launched the global “Plastic-Free Campuses” program recently.

The initiative seeks to create a worldwide network of schools and universities repudiating single-use plastic and promoting alternative systems.

Break Free From Plastic’s Plastic-Free Campuses coordinator Tiara Samson said the campaign has gained serious traction with BFFP member-organizations engaging over 3,000 schools and universities worldwide who have committed to curb their use of single-use plastic. In addition, more schools and universities are signing on to the BFFP Campus Resolution pledge to start putting their campuses on a plastic-free pathway.

“Activist youth have a crucial role to play, not only by transforming their campuses, but by setting an example and showing their peers that a better world is possible,” she said.

By engaging with youth leaders and students, the Plastic-Free Campus program aims to create a new generation of change-makers to lead the worldwide revolt against single-use plastic, connect to the root causes of climate change and find lasting systemic solutions.

In the United States, the University of California, Los Angeles and UC Berkeley are gradually phasing out plastic in their campuses, while Silliman University in the Philippines adopted a zero waste program last year which includes policies to completely ban single-use plastic in university premises. – Rhodina Villanueva