Public universities in the National Capital Region (NCR) have moved the launching of face-to-face classes in February, according to Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairman Prospero De Vera III.
This comes as CHED issued an advisory saying that universities in areas under Alert Level 3 may start face-to-face classes on January 31.
But De vera clarified to DZRH on Wednesday that this is only a reference for higher education institutions (HEIs), and they could reopen in-person classes later than the said date.
"So ‘yung January 31 ay reference point, ibig sabihin kung sa palagay ng mga pamantasan at 'yung kalagayan sa lugar nila ay hindi pa pwede, pwede naman silang later … January 31 'yung pinakamaaga na pwede sa Alert Level 3," he explained.
(So the January 31 is a reference point, meaning if the university thinks and their situation there makes them unable to reopen, they can do it later… January 31 is the earliest date for Alert Level 3.)
According to the CHED chairman, he met with public universities on Tuesday night where he found out the different situations affecting the reopening of in-person classes nationwide.
In the NCR, De Vera that this is because they are still monitoring the current COVID-19 situation before making any decisions.
"Minove nila ng February kasi nga hindi pa masyadong maganda ang sitwasyon ngayon at tinitignan natin yung datos," the CHED chairman said in an interview.
(They moved it in February because the situation is not that good and we are still looking at the data.)
"Ngayon at tinitignan natin 'yung datos, siguro in one to two weeks makikita natin kung mag-iimprove, mas madali silang mag-desisyon," he added.
(Now that we are looking at data, maybe in one or two weeks we will find out if this improves, then we can make an easier decision.)
However, in other areas such as Regions 7 and 8 and Caraga, in-person classes are delayed because of Typhoon Odette.
"'Yung mga ibang lugar wala pang kuryente kaya't hindi ka rin talaga makakapag-face-to-face, hindi ka rin makapag-online classes dahil sa tinamaan ng bagyo," he said.
(Other places still don’t have electricity that’s why we can’t hold face-to-face, we can’t also conduct online classes because they are hit by the typhoon.)
De Vera said the commission is continuing to monitor the conditions on the ground, and urged HEIs to inform their regional office, students, and faculty so they are guided on when in-person classes can start.
