MANILA - More than 90 percent of printed learning modules have been distributed to teachers and schools, the Department of Education said Monday, ahead of public schools' class opening.

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"Sa monitoring po natin sobra na ng 90 percent ito...Sangayon sa mga commitment ay napamigay na," Education Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

Students may also switch to other modes of learning and may still use textbooks, he added.

"Pwede ring gamitin ang aklat pero kung gusto natin ng learning resource na talagang angkop sa distance learning, module ang gagamitin. Pero dahil nga hindi naman lahat matatapos o mabibigay, sinasabi natin pwede ring gamitin ang aklat," San Antonio said.

(They can also use textbooks but if we want a learning resource appropriate for distance learning, we will use modules. But again, not everything can be distributed on time so they can also use textbooks.)

"Kung book po mas may dagdag na effort silang gagawin eh distance learning nga at nasa panahon ng pandemya ang gusto natin ay mabigay din sa mga bata yung pinakaangkop na learning resource hanggat kaya natin."

(Textbooks will require more effort from students and since we're experiencing a pandemic we want to give children the most appropriate learning resource as much as possible.)

The agency, meantime, suggests for classes to be suspended during the onslaught of typhoons even if face-to-face classes remain prohibited, San Antonio said.

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"Ang class suspensions po ang mayor at governor ang gumagawa. Ang sina-suggest po namin sa araw ng bagyo dapat wala namang pag-aaral," he said.

(Mayor and governors decide class suspensions. We suggest that there should be no learning during storms.)

Only "physically fit" teachers may go to their schools to manage their classes if they do not have equipment at home, San Antonio said. The DepEd has also allowed teachers to take home school equipment, he added.

The agency also follows government's guidelines on minimum public health standard and swab tests, San Antonio reiterated.

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As of Wednesday last week, 24.6 million learners enrolled in public and private schools, and in the Alternative Learning System for School Year 2020 to 2021. The figure is 88.8 percent of the total number of students last year.