MANILA — Fifteen schools in Metro Manila have reopened as part of the expansion phase for in-person classes, an official from the Department of Education said Tuesday.

The 15 schools started their in-person classes on Monday, joining 28 Metro Manila schools that were allowed to hold classroom sessions under the pilot phase last November, said Germa Constantino, information officer at the DepEd's National Capital Region (NCR) office.

Constantino said attendance was at "almost 100 percent" among the students who participated in the expansion phase.

"Generally, it went on smoothly. Almost 100 [percent] attendance na rin iyong ating mga students (Students' attendance was at almost 100 percent)," she told reporters.

Constantino said school programs would be improved with the resumption of in-person learning, which was banned in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Meaning, iyong mga lessons ng teachers sa students, maga-adjust iyon. And then iyong number of students per classroom kasi mayroon din naman iyong hybrid learning," she said, referring to a combination of classroom and remote instruction.

(This means that teachers will adjust the lessons they give to students. There will also be an adjustment in the number of students per classroom because of hybrid learning.)

Constantino was also optimistic that more schools would reopen to physical classes in the coming weeks.

In San Juan City, Pedro Cruz Elementary School began in-person learning for students in Grades 4 and 6 under the expansion phase.

• ALAMIN: Paunang guidelines sa pagpapalawig ng face-to-face classes

The school's Kindergarten to Grade 3 students already attended face-to-face classes during the pilot phase.

Principal Demie Atienza assured proper delegation of tasks among teachers who handle physical and virtual classes.

"Naiprograma namin nang maayos kung sino-sino lamang ang magtuturo ng face-to-face at kung sino sino lang din ang magtuturo online," Atienza said.

(We've programmed it in a way where we've identified which teachers will teach only face-to-face classes and which teachers will teach only online classes.)

San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora said he was also keen on allowing more schools to resume face-to-face classes, as the city government continued to invest on education infrastructure and technology.

"Sana po ay magtuloy-tuloy na. Basta naman hindi magkaroon ng ano mang surge muli ay nakikita ko na tuloy-tuloy na po ito," he said.

(We hope the reopening of schools continues. As long as we don't see any surge in COVID-19 cases again, I see that this will continue.)

• Metro Manila schools resume in-person classes

For some parents, the vaccination of children aged 5 and above has given them the confidence to allow their kids to return to school despite the continued pandemic.

"Dapat mayroon din iyong kids [na bakuna] para safe sila," said Winseal Eleazar, mother of a five-year-old daughter.

(The kids should have a vaccine too so they can be safe.)

Rosell Saraga, a mother of 3, said she was initially hesitant to allow her children to attend in-person classes, but the availability of vaccines made her reconsider her decision.

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