(Eagle News) – Starting next Monday, May 4, higher education institutions can start its skeletal operations in areas under general community quarantine, or those outside of the enhanced community quarantine, according to Malacanang.
This is for these institutions to finish the requirements for the current school year, academic year 2019 to 2020.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that the HEIs would also need to prepare for “flexible learning arrangements” for the next school year.
This would already include outside classroom protocols using the online system, and other ways of learning that would not include being inside classrooms.
“Simula Mayo 4, 2020 po, ang Higher Education Institutions ay pinayagan nang magbalik operasyon na may skeletal force sa mga lugar na hindi sa ilalim ng enhanced community quarantine para tapusin ang academic year 2019-2020 at para paghandaan ang flexible learning arrangement sa susunod na pasukan,” Roque said in a press briefing.
The HEIs refer to colleges and universities and professional schools in such fields as law, medicine, business, music and art, science and others. This would also include teacher-training schools, community colleges and institutes of technology.
As for basic education, there is still a standing suggestion to move the start of the next school year to September, instead of June as protocols are being prepared for “flexible learning” where students do not need to be inside classrooms, or for a limited number of 15 to 20 students only inside a classroom and only for select days in a week.
But this skeletal opening of HEIs would not apply to ECQ areas: Metro Manila, CALABARZON (Region 4-A), most of Central Luzon (except for the province of Aurora), Pangasinan, Benguet, Baguio City, Iloilo province, Cebu province, Cebu City, and Davao City
In these ECQ areas, people are still going to be mostly inside their homes, and could only go out to buy food and other essential items. Only frontliners are allowed to go out in ECQ areas, also those allowed in the transport of goods and other items.
The ECQ in these areas would last until May 15, and after that would again depend on the assessment of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Malacanang has already laid down the guidelines for what is termed as the “new normal” that would take effect tomorrow, Friday, May 1, detailing the activities, businesses and industries allowed to operate under the ECQ and GCQ areas, as well as the businesses and activities that are still prohibited.
(Eagle News Service)
