Classes Open For 22.5 M Students Today

The Department of Education (DepEd) formally opens School Year (SY) 2020-2021 today, Oc-tober 5, after two postponements and a delay of four months from the usual June schedule, for the country’s 22.50 million students enrolled in public schools.

- Merlina Hernando-Malipot

The opening of classes is annually marked with millions of students trooping to their schools but with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, students will stay inside their homes in the first day of classes for SY 2020-2021.

Without face-to-face classes, students will learn their lessons through various alternative delivery modalities with the guidance of their parents and teachers.

Under distance learning, students will take their lessons using printed or digitized modules, online, or through television or radio-based instruction.

Depending on available resources and capabilities, DepEd said that schools are allowed to implement blended learning or a combination of two or more learning delivery modalities.

Latest data from DepEd showed that there are 22.74 million students enrolled in public and private schools which is 89.02 percent of last year’s turnout at 27.7 million.

Private schools have a current enrollment of 2.16 million and were allowed to start their classes early without face-to-face interaction and implementing a distance learning approach.

DepEd will welcome SY 2020-2021 through its National School Opening Day Program with a nationwide simultaneous flag-raising ceremony led by Education Secretary Leonor Briones.

Briones will give an inspirational message and formally declare the opening of the new school year amidst the challenges in education brought by the pandemic.

President Duterte will give a recorded message on the school opening.