Senator Win Gatchalian has urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to form its panel of experts that will guide the pilot tests of face-to-face classes in low-risk areas.

The Senate will tackle on Wednesday, February 24, the impact of mitigating the pernicious effects of the quality of distance learning, other psycho-social concerns and the implications of postponing the resumption of face-to-face classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Win Gatchalian said.

Emphasizing that displaced teachers and non-teaching staff have waited long enough to receive their aid, Senator Win Gatchalian is calling on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to accelerate the distribution of financial aid allotted for teachers and non-teaching personnel under the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (Republic Act 11494) or Bayanihan 2.

Aside from the need to hasten learning recovery following the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, learners’ continued access to safety nets adds urgency to the safe reopening of schools, Senator Win Gatchalian said.

Like the study made by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Senator Win Gatchalian also referred to that of Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency (PHA) to reiterate his call to the Philippine government to consider allowing localized and limited face-to-face classes especially in low risk areas. The PHA recently assured that schools are not a major source of COVID-19 transmission.

To help ensure coherence in improving the quality of teacher education and training in the country, Senator Win Gatchalian is seeking the institutionalization of the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), the Department of Education’s (DepEd) professional development arm.

A recent study on the behavior of internet users revealed that Gen Zs, or those born after 1996, are the most likely to share unverified news on social media platforms. For Senator Win Gatchalian, this finding should prompt efforts to boost information and media literacy among the country’s K to 12 learners.

Following the Commission on Population and Development’s (POPCOM) report that pregnancies among minors aged 10-14 was up by 7 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year, Senator Win Gatchalian is calling for a more aggressive government response to prevent young girls from being pregnant and falling in the trap of ‘intergenerational poverty.’

As the country prepares for the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, Senator Win Gatchalian is calling on the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to study the findings of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in allowing face-to-face classes. The CDC is a national public health institute in the United States.