An organization of private schools appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to allow them to open classes as scheduled following the postponement of school opening to October 5.

“We appeal to the President, to allow private schools to continue with school opening as scheduled, as we have been tirelessly preparing at the onset of this pandemic and massive efforts and solutions were made to address the learning crisis,” Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (Cocopea) said in a statement on Friday, August 14.

READ: As DepEd moves school opening, private schools appeal to President Duterte to allow them to continue school opening as scheduled. | via @bnzmagsambol pic.twitter.com/wbkD6PiDme

— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) August 14, 2020

On Friday, the Department of Education (DepEd) postponed the school opening for the school year 2020-2021 from August 24 to October 5. (READ: DepEd moves school opening to October 5, 2020)

According to Education Secretary Briones, she made the proposal to delay the school opening as early as August 6 due to logistical limitations brought on by the imposition of a modified enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and in the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Laguna. 

During Friday’s briefing, Briones said that the new order also applies to private schools. However, DepEd will not stop classes in schools that have already opened prior to the new order.

“Ang policy namin, kung nakaumpisa na sila, e i-monitor ‘yan ng DepEd…. Hindi namin sasabihin na tumigil kayo,” Briones said. (Our policy is, if they have already started classes, then DepEd will monitor them.… We won’t advise them to stop.)

Citing a law, Cocopea said RA 7797, as amended by RA 11480, gives private schools the flexibility to adopt its “own school calendar within the period by law.”

“With this announcement of deferment, this may give some private schools the option to further move their school opening to any date but not beyond October 5,” Cocopea added.

According to Cocopea, private schools’ preparations for distance learning have been motivated by their “desire to resume school operations for the benefit of our learners and also the welfare of around 300,000 teachers and other personnel who are at risk of being laid off from work or work without pay should the school opening be pushed anew to October 5.”

In a Rappler Talk interview in July, Cocopea Managing Director Joseph Noel Estrada said the enrollment in private schools for 2020-2021 was “alarmingly low,” representing only a fourth of the number the past year.

In a survey conducted by Cocopea in April, more than 500 of its 2,500 member schools participated. At the time, according to Estrada, around 400 or 80% of the respondent schools said they might close down during the pandemic.

As of Friday, some 1.6 million private schools students have signed up for the school opening. This is just a third of last year’s 4.4 million enrollees for private institutions.

Help from private schools for distance learning

Cocopea also said it was reaching out to DepEd and to policymakers again to offer private schools’ online and distance education resources, “including its well-trained teachers,” to help public schools in the delivery of education.

“We have available student slots of up to 60% our capacity or up to 3 million students. This will help hasten the readiness of the public school system, and at the same time, the government could help in sustaining the operations of the private education institutions adversely affected by the very low turnout of enrollment because of the students’ financial difficulties,” Cocopea said.

Asked for clarification on how the government can specifically help them, Estrada told Rappler in a text message: “Through vouchers of students to utilize the resources of private schools that are ready.”

Estrada was referring to the Senior High School (SHS) Voucher Program of the DepEd, which aims to provide financial assistance in the form of vouchers for incoming senior high school students in participating private or non-DepEd public senior high schools. (READ: DepEd opens senior high school voucher program for 2020-2021)

DepEd will not give the subsidy in cash, but will directly pay the non-DepEd senior high school where the student will enroll.

The department had allocated P23.93 billion for private schools and P642.4 million for non-DepEd public schools under the SHS Voucher Program for the coming school year.

The DepEd decided to shift to distance learning for the coming school year to comply with the President’s order that schools postpone face-to-face classes until a coronavirus vaccine becomes available. 

Prior to the postponement of classes, DepEd made headlines following issues in the printing of self-learning modules, the launch of school readiness programs being marred by technical glitches, and “painful” grammar errors in TV episodes to be used for distance learning.

Several groups and lawmakers have earlier called on DepEd to delay the opening of classes, as more time is needed to prepare the transition to the overhauled education system. (READ: Senators remind DepEd: New law allows class opening past August during calamities)

Some 23 million public and private school students have signed up for the school opening. This is 4 million lower than last year’s 27.7 million enrollees. – Rappler.com