Oplan Balik Eskwela launched for August 22 resumption of face-to-face classes

The Department of Education (DepEd) and its partner agencies on Monday launched Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE) in preparation for the resumption of face-to-face classes on August 22 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the theme “Kapit-Bisig Para sa Mas Ligtas na Balik-Aral,” OBE aims to ensure that students from public and private schools are properly enrolled and that the concerns and problems during the start of the school year will be addressed.

Along with the launch of the campaign was the opening of the OBE Public Assistance Command Center which will serve as an information and complaint platform for the public regarding the opening of classes.

“Sa susunod na Lunes po, napakaimportante na meron tayong maayos na command center para siya po ang dudunog at maririnig ang lahat ng mga reklamo, lahat ng mga komunikasyon para madali nating tugunan ang pangangailangan ng ating mga estudyante, mga magulang, mga guro, at pangangailangan ng publiko,” DepEd Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Epimaco Densing III said.

(Next Monday, it is important that we have a command center that will listen to all the concerns, all the communication so we can easily respond to the needs of students, parents, teachers, and the public.)

DepEd partnered with 17 agencies for this annual initiative - the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of National Defense (DND), National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Office of the Press Secretary (OPS), National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Information And Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Manila Electric Company (Meralco), and Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).

For their part, the DOH’s Dr. Alfonso Miguel Regala said that they would bring the COVID-19 vaccines closer to students, teachers, and parents through a settings-based strategy, which includes schools. The agency will also help in ensuring school safety through continued compliance with health protocols.

DepEd has been coordinating with the DOH to roll out mobile COVID-19 vaccinations and organize counseling sessions among unvaccinated learners in schools.

PNP Police Brigadier General Arnel Amor Libed, meanwhile, explained that they would intensify law enforcement activities in schools, transportation hubs, and other places of convergence where students and teachers are vulnerable to crimes.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairperson Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil also said that the DOTr would open additional routes, to cater to the increased passenger demand. Free rides and a 20% fare discount in public utility vehicles would also be provided students.

Currently, there are free rides at the EDSA Bus Carousel until December 2022, while free train rides are offered to students on the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3), Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT2), and Philippine National Railways (PNR) from August 22 until November 4, 2022.

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte also dropped by the event and thanked the agencies for supporting the resumption of face-to-face classes on August 22.

“Thank you to our partners from the other national government agencies and other agencies and instrumentalities of the government. Thank you for your support of the efforts of the Department of Education and the opening of in-person classes nationwide on August 22,” she said.

Duterte earlier said that combined in-person classes and distance learning would be implemented from August to October, while the five-day face-to-face classes would start in November.

Meanwhile, DepEd Undersecretary Atty. Revsee Escobedo said the DepEd was confident that the country could achieve a full return to face-to-face classes by November this year.

“The OBE aims to strengthen DepEd’s call towards a safe reopening of classes nationwide and to highlight our communities' shared responsibility to ensure the delivery of quality basic education that is both liberating and accessible to all our Filipino lifelong learners in the country,” he said.

The OBE will run from August 15 to August 26, 2022.

Enrollees

Based on the DepEd’s latest report, 20,628,682 students nationwide have enrolled for the School Year 2022 to 2023.

Of this number, 18,147,254 are in public schools, while 2,411,042 are in private schools.

Meanwhile, some 70,386 are in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs).

DepEd spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa earlier said DepEd was looking at 28.6 million enrollees for the upcoming school year. — DVM, GMA News