Education Secretary Leonor Briones reiterated on Monday that the classes, which will resume in September, remain "blended learning" as the Department of Education is seeking President Rodrigo Duterte's approval to conduct in-person classes to 100 pilot schools in the country.

"We will still be (implementing) blended learning," said Briones in the "Laging Handa" public briefing.

"The President hasn't yet said if there will be face-to-face. We're only asking for pilot (in-physical classes)," she said.

The DepEd chief said they only want to limit the pilot face-to-face classes to 100 schools.

The department was supposed to initially implement physical classes last January in some schools but due to new COVID-19 variants, Duterte decided to halt it.

Briones said if Duterte will finally agree for face-to-face classes, they have to make sure that social distancing will be strictly followed.

There should also be a written consent of the parents, the local government units have to agree, and the canteens and other personnel responsible should follow the health guidelines, she said.

"We have been coordinating with the Department of Health and at the end of the day, whatever their advice, we will submit to the President and the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) will review everything," Briones explained.

"It's important that they (parents) trust the school system, we trust each other," she added.

Briones also said National Task Force Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. has committed to vaccinate against COVID-19 "substantial" number of students and teachers by August.

Currently, she said some 300,000 DepEd employees have been vaccinated in 15 regions out of 17 regions. DepEd has yet to receive data from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Region 4-B or Mimaropa.

DepEd earlier announced that classes in public and elementary and high schools for school year 2021-2022 will begin on September 13 through blended learning, which include use of modules, television, radio, and other online platforms.

Private schools have been given flexibility to set the opening of their classes. Celerina Monte/DMS