By Joshua Corcuera
Last November 15, select schools returned to face-to-face classes involving grade school pupils and high school students. With the success, more schools are being endorsed by the Department of Education to implement face-to-face classes. Likewise, it was reported that the Commission on Higher Education will allow all degree programs to apply for permission to conduct face-to-face classes.
In line with this, it is essential to take note that COVID-19 cases in the Philippines are finally decreasing—flattening the curve as experts termed last year. As of writing, less than 1,000 cases were reported. This does not mean, however, that we should be complacent and careless, especially that some countries in Europe are suffering from another surge of COVID-19 cases.
From the decrease of cases, however, we can learn and settle once and for all that vaccines work—they are safe and effective. It is disappointing that thousands of people in Philippine social media spread disinformation about vaccines with some claiming it would cause adverse health effects in the future. This is, of course, not true as health experts and scientists guaranteed that COVID-19 vaccines are safe. The fact that such false information spread so quickly in social media, by the way, makes the case for imposing face-to-face classes to all schools as soon as possible.
As of writing, almost 40% of the Philippine population—according to Our World in Data—has been fully vaccinated. This is not far behind from the global average, though this is still around 30% short of herd immunity. Yet, as early as now, we can see the positive impact brought by vaccines to our country. Travel restrictions are becoming more relaxed, more people can go back to work, and as I wrote in the opening paragraph, schools are starting to impose face-to-face classes.
With cases plummeting, it is judged that students must be allowed to go back to school. It is good to hear, likewise, that the imposition of face-to-face classes seems to be careful and well-planned. As of now, only a few schools—mostly from areas where COVID-19 is not much of a threat—can implement face-to-face classes. If students and teachers remain safe, together with more people being vaccinated, it is likely that more schools will follow suit. Ultimately, online and modular learning set-ups will shift dramatically to the traditional face-to-face set-up.
There are challenges to surmount, however. While the Education Secretary noted that the first week of face-to-face classes have been “fairly successful,” it was also observed that some students tend to take off masks during face-to-face classes. This should not be surprising as some, for whatever reason, are stubborn. Remember that, before the pandemic, some students intentionally did not wear their IDs? Now, the same can be said when it comes to wearing face masks.
Thus, we still have to deal with certain issues. But it cannot be denied that things are starting to get better and face-to-face classes are not far away. Still, we have to be vigilant of all the dangers presented by the outside world aside from COVID-19. The safety of students and teachers is not only about avoiding the virus, but from all risks presented by the outside world.
