DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ADVISORY

The Department of Education (DepEd) earlier announced the decision of the President to defer the school opening for School Year (SY) 2020-2021 from August 24, 2020 to October 5, 2020, as recommended by the Secretary of Education in light of the implications of the imposition of the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) in Metro Manila and in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan.

This is pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 11480, which amended RA No. 7797, providing that the President, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Education, may set a date later than the last day of August for the start of the school year in the country or parts thereof in the event of a declaration of a state of emergency or state of calamity.

After conferring with the Office of the Executive Secretary on the applicability of the decision to private schools and other non-DepEd schools, DepEd hereby clarifies that such private or non-DepEd schools that have already started their classes, or are scheduled to start classes on August 24 or on other dates ahead of October 5, are allowed to proceed provided they are strictly using only distance learning modalities and that there are no face-to-face classes. These schools shall submit the relevant documents to the Regional Director as required by DepEd Order No. 7, s. 2020 (School Calendar and Activities for School Year 2020-2021) as well as DepEd Order No. 13, s. 2020 and DepEd Order No. 17, s. 2020 on readiness assessment).