PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte canceled the pilot implementation of face-to-face classes in January 2021 as part of efforts to block the new variant of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
The President gave the instruction during a meeting with infectious diseases specialists on Saturday, December 26, 2020.
"'Yong face-to-face ni Secretary Briones, I'm sorry to disappoint her. Hindi na puwedeng ano — there's a variant because this variant attacks even young people," Duterte said.
"So 'yong face-to-face na klase wala na iyon. We'll just wait for the normal prog — normal season of schooling. It's bakasyon then June, hopefully, June baka mag-improve na at mabakunahan na una mga bata, ah 'di okay na," he added.
Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones, in a statement Saturday, said they will implement the President's instructions.
She said the pilot run of limited face-to-face, or in-person, classes is suspended until further notice.
"The department will fully cooperate with the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) in its response to the current situation," she said.
Face-to-face classes in the country have been suspended since mid-March 2020. Duterte earlier said these will not be held until a vaccine against Covid-19 becomes available.
A distance learning program is currently being implemented for school year 2020-2021, which opened in October.
Malacañang, however, announced on December 14 that Duterte has approved the pilot implementation of face-to-face classes in low-risk areas in January 2021.
The Palace stressed attendance in such classes will be voluntary on the part of the learners and parents.
Over 25 million learners are enrolled nationwide for school year 2020-2021, based on DepEd records.
The new virus variant, formally called SARS-CoV-2 VUI 202012/01 (Variant Under Investigation, year 2020, month 12, variant 01), was first detected in the United Kingdom (UK).
Duterte has approved the recommendation of the IATF for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to temporarily prohibit inbound flights from the UK.
The ban, originally set to end on December 31, 2020, has been extended for two weeks until January 15, 2021. (Marites Villamor-Ilano with Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / VoxPop Philippines)