Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday supported the return of students to face-to-face learning in the next academic year.
In-person classes were the first activities suspended because of COVID-19, forcing students to transition to online and eventually hybrid learning modes amid the pandemic.
But in a recent announcement from the Department of Education (DepEd), Secretary Leonor Briones said they are expecting the 100% full implementation of face-to-face classes next academic year.
Gatchalian, who is also the chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts, and Culture, welcomed the development.
"Matapos ang halos dalawang taon ng pagtugon natin sa mga hamon ng pandemya, napapanahon nang buksan natin ang lahat ng mga paaralan upang makabalik na ang mga mag-aaral," he said in a statement.
(After nearly two years of responding to the challenges of the pandemic, it is timely to open all schools so students can return.)
"Habang patuloy ang pagbangon ng iba't ibang sektor, dapat nating tiyaking hindi mapag-iiwanan ang sektor ng edukasyon."
(While recovery is continuous for various sectors, we should also ensure that the education sector is not left behind.)
Upon the return of students to classes, Gatchalian stressed the need for a "massive learning recovery program" to make up for the learning loss during the pandemic.
The program includes tutorial sessions for struggling learners and will cover the essential learning competencies under Language and Mathematics for Grades 1 to 10 and Science for Grades 3 to 10.
Literacy and numeracy will also be focused on for Kindergarten learners, according to Gatchalian.
Meanwhile, the senator, who was recently re-elected in the May elections, also pledged to pursue legislation to improve the quality of education and speed up the sector's recovery from the pandemic.
As of late May, DepEd said there are 34,238 schools nominated to conduct face-to-face classes, while over 33,000 public schools are already holding in-person classes.
