MANILA—The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Saturday reiterated that only fully vaccinated students from COVID-19 would be allowed to attend in-person classes, as more higher education institutions (HEI) were expected to resume under looser restrictions.

CHED chairperson Prospero De Vera said those who remained unvaccinated could opt to participate in online classes.

" ’Yung mga hindi bakunado puwede sila mag-aral sa pamamagitan ng online classes. Ang policy ng CHED sa lahat ng higher education institutions ay flexible learning policy pa rin," De Vera explained in a televised briefing.

• READ: Limited in-person classes allowed in law schools in areas under Alert Levels 1-3

"'Yung pamantasan 'yung magde-decide ng tamang mix ng face to face, online, at offline. ’Yun ’yung kanilang option. Puwede silang mag-full face-to-face, full online. Puwede ring maging online plus face-to-face . . . depende sa pangangailangan ng pamantasan at kakayanan ng mga estudyante at faculty," he added.

Malacañang on Friday announced that the COVID-19 task force approved guidelines set by CHED for in-person classes under Alert Level 1.

• READ: Gov't OKs full capacity for college, university in-person classes under Alert Level 1

Under the commission's rules, only fully vaccinated personnel and students will be allowed in the school's premises.

HEIs under the loosest alert level have also been allowed to operate at full capacity, which means no physical distancing will be implemented in seating arrangements, it added.

BENEFITS OF OPERATING AT 100 PCT

De Vera said letting schools operate at 100 percent would make it easier to determine how many students could attend face-to-face classes.

HEIs under the higher alert levels, he added, could only allow a capacity of 50 percent or 70 percent, which was why alternate classes of students were held physically.

• READ: CHED: Don't hold in-person classes if conditions unfavorable
• READ: CHED pushes for 'clustered' COVID-19 vaccination in colleges, universities

"Ang benefit ay hindi mo na masyadong pinoproblema kung ilan ’yung iyong pababalikin. Noon, dahil sa Alert Level 3 dahil 30 percent lamang, pinoproblema ng pamantasan 'yung pagsalit-salit ng mga estudyante kung kailan sila papasok o mago-online o mago-offline," he explained.

"Ngayon mas madali na i-arrange ang klase . . . Mas kaya na nila i-manage ’yung facility."

At present, about 313 HEIs are holding in-person classes, while more than 1,000 programs are allowed to return physically, the CHED chief said.

He emphasized that more universities and colleges would open next school year 2022 to 2023, as some had to postpone their reopening this semester due to the surge of new COVID-19 cases in January due to the more transmissible omicron variant.

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Video from PTV