SAN FERNANDO CITY – Ten schools in the region qualify for the limited face-to-face classes which will start on November 15.

The nine schools in Ilocos Norte are Alao-ao Elementary School and Padaggan Elementary School both in Bangui town; Bicbica Primary School, Buanga Elementary School, and Godogod Elementary School in Pinili town.

Dumalneg Elementary School and Dumalneg National High School in Dumalneg town; and San Isidro Elementary School and Cacafean Elementary School in Marcos, Ilocos Norte are also on the list.

Meanwhile, Longos Elementary School in Alaminos City is also included.

The announcement was made by Regional Director Tolentino Aquino during the regular virtual press conference held on October 27.

Said region 1 schools are part of the third batch of schools which will open for limited face-to-face classes.

“Safety measures are employed by the schools and by the Department of Education (DepEd) in general and will also be closely monitored and guided by the Department of Health (DOH), to ensure that students and teachers are safe and protected,” Director Aquino said.

He added, “we will assess its conduct and learn how this will be expanded because we want to bring back the normal in education and the safe return of the learners in our schools.”

Reiterating that the pilot run is voluntary, parents must provide written consent allowing their Kindergarten to Grade 3 children to join.

The approval of the schools for face-to-face learning modality is with the DOH, as per the Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1 defining the operational guidelines on the conduct of the pilot study,

Dr. Romarie Joy Castillo also announced that almost all teachers in the pilot schools are already vaccinated while they continue encouraging unvaccinated parents to be vaccinated.

Initially, 14 schools in the region were submitted for the third batch but after validation, COVID-19 cases were reported in the areas of the other four schools and thus were disqualified.

As of October 26, 90 schools in the whole country will participate in the pilot run on November 15. #

By: Joanna Diaz-Sabado, Public Affairs Unit