MANILA — Officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) have begun inspecting public schools that will join its pilot implementation of limited in-person classes.

On Thursday, officials led by Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan and Planning Service Director Roger Masapol visited Tamulaya Elementary School in Quezon province's Polillo Island to check its readiness for the pilot run, scheduled to start on Nov. 15.

Lilibeth Torres, head teacher at the school, said 49 students from Grades 1 to 3 will participate in the pilot implementation and attend classroom sessions.

All of the school's teachers have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and health protocols will be implemented to prevent the spread of the virus.

DepEd officials, led by Usec. Nepomuceno Malaluan and Dir. Roger Masapol, inspected Tamulaya Elementary School in Polillo Island, one of the 100 public schools that will join the pilot implementation of face to face classes on Nov. 15 (📷DepEd) @DZMMTeleRadyo @ABSCBNNews pic.twitter.com/xs7r5dqdyi

— Maria Arra Perez (@arraperezDZMM) November 4, 2021

Students will stay on campus for a maximum of 3 hours. Classrooms and other facilities will be disinfected after every class.

Barangay officials and residents have also volunteered to help in the disinfection.

Polillo Island Mayor Cristina Bosque assured constant coordination between the local government and school during the dry run.

Malaluan said he was optimistic that participating schools would be able to comply with guidelines for the safe conduct of in-person classes.

"I think it's the level of cooperation of all involved sectors - local government, Department of Health, barangay, parents, immediate community, along with our DepEd family. That is a central component of the guidelines, which is the shared responsibility," he said.

On Wednesday, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said the DepEd was ready for the pilot run.

• DepEd ready to hold limited in-person classes
• LIST: Schools joining pilot implementation of limited face-to-face classes

The DepEd is still identifying 20 private schools that will be tapped to hold limited in-person classes starting Nov. 22.

Philippine schools have been closed since the start of the pandemic, with the education system shifting to remote learning using printed modules and online, television and radio platforms.

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