The opening of public and private schools throughout the province of Bohol under the “new normal” has been orderly and “a success,” according to Bohol Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Bianito Dagatan.

In an interview with dyRD Balita, Dr. Dagatan bared that as of Monday, more than 283,000 learners have enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools in the province while some 30,000 students are likewise enrolled in private institutions.

 “The number of students will still go up as we expect more late enrollees in the coming days. Our schools will continue to accept late enrollees,” the DepEd Bohol superintendent said.

Lessons this school year will be given via online classes and the use of printed modules, and may even utilize TV and radio stations, Dagatan added.

Dr. Dagatan said that as of yesterday, the first day of opening of classes, teachers, school heads and district supervisors have reported no serious problems despite the challenges posed by the new modalities in the delivery of instructions and lessons to the students and despite the threat of COVID-19.

Teachers are the ones distributing the modules and printed learning materials to the parents or guardians of the students.

During the opening of classes yesterday which was also the commemoration of World Teachers’ Day, Dr. Dagatan personally conducted inspections in public schools.

The provincial schools superintended observed that the high number of enrollees in public schools is mainly due to the huge number of students transferring from private schools.

Meanwhile, Dr. Dagatan bared that learners who are residing near their schools are allowed by the DepEd to personally pick-up their printed learning materials and modules aside from being allowed to confer with their class advisers and teachers, especially when a particular student’s parents or guardian is unable to go to the school.

According to Dr. Dagatan, learning modules and activity sheets are distributed on Thursdays and Fridays so that parents would still have enough time to disinfect the learning materials before being used by the students, such as exposing these under the heat of the sun.

The DepEd superintendent also clarified that while they allow students living near their schools to go their campuses on any day of the weekday, this is not to conduct face-to-face classes but solely for the purpose of distributing the learning materials and conferring with their teacher regarding lessons. (RT)