Manila: The Philippines on Friday delayed the start of school for another six weeks until October, as the country fights the coronavirus outbreak and prepares to convert study rooms into quarantine facilities.
Schools in the archipelago have been closed since mid-March, when The government of President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a month-long closure in an effort to curb the spread of contagion.
The educational year begins in June, but has been delayed until August 24.
It is now scheduled to begin on October 5, the education branch said, accusing the most recent closure in the capital Manila and 4 surrounding provinces of “logistical limitations” in preparing for distance education.
Authorities have largely ruled face-to-face categories for the remainder of 2020 after Duterte said academics remain at home until an anti-virus vaccine is available.
The Philippines is expected to start a large human-scale Russian vaccine in October with regulatory approval of the drug scheduled for April, according to the government’s schedule published Thursday.
Meanwhile, more than 20 million academics enrolled for the new school year will perform a “combined learning” that adds to a combination of online, television and radio courses.
But the arrangements have been marred by the upheavals and it is feared that many young people from poor families with little or no internet access will be disadvantaged.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones suggested parents use government-provided online modules to send their children to school during the extended break.
“It’s your credit if you’re already starting to teach your own children,” Briones said.
“We’ll be more than in a position until October.”
But there was a protest on social media this week after some of the modules turned out to be riddled with grammatical errors.
The Department of Education has blamed a coding problem.
Half of Manila’s study rooms, nearly 18,000, went to the fitness service to be used as isolation centers for COVID-19 patients, Briones said Thursday.
This occurs when the government forces others who have tested positive for the virus and who isolate themselves at home to stay in government-run facilities to slow transmission of the disease over the network.
The Philippines has the highest infections in Southeast Asia, with more than 153,000 cases shown, adding up to 2,442 deaths.
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