The Makati City local government launched on Monday, Aug. 22, the 100 percent implementation of face-to-face classes in all its public schools at the start of school year 2022-2023.

Makati City and San Juan City are the first local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila conducting 100 percent face-to-face classes in all its public schools ahead of the Department of Education's (DepEd) order to fully implement the learning method in November after two years of blended learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nicanor Garcia Elementary School Principal and DepEd - Makati Public School District Supervisor Osarlo Cantos said the students' first day of classes went through without a hitch as he expressed hope that the other learning facilities in the city will also do so.

"Hindi naman po natin maiiwasan na magkakaroon po tayo (problems), pero manageable naman po kung ano mang challenges ang makaharap namin. Na-aaddress naman po agad ang concerns po ng paaralan (It is unavoidable to have problems in our school and students. However, most, if not all challenges that we may face are manageable. The concerns of our school and pupils are also immediately being addressed)," Cantos said in an interview with DZBB.

Despite having 1,027 students in Nicanor Garcia Elementary School, Cantos explained that they did not have any problems in terms of social distancing and observance of other public health and safety protocols as the city government had already made steps to avoid overcrowding in schools and learning facilities which may cause the spread of Covid-19 such as the implementation of shifting classes and monitoring of all classrooms and school facilities.

"Bago naman po magsimula ang aming klase, meron naman pong monitoring based on the number of students. Tinitignan po namin ang capacities ng aming mga classrooms kasi ang classrooms po namin ay may sizes (Before the resumption of classes, we have already held monitoring of school facilities based on the number students. We made sure that classrooms have enough capacity for the students because each classroom have corresponding sizes)," Cantos said.

"Ang standard po ay 7x9 na ang capacity po nun ay pwede po syang 45-50 students. Pero ang based dun sa aming classroom size, nagrarange lang po sya from 30-35 students from Grade 1 to 3; Grade 4 to 6 there are 40-45 students (The standard 7x9 classroom has the capacity for 45-50 students. However, based on our monitoring, its range is only 30-35 students from Grade 1 to 3, and 40-45 students for Grade 4 to 6)," he added.

Back to school essentials

Since the month of March, Makati City Mayor Abby Binay started the distribution of school supplies, school uniforms, shoes, Randoseru bags, jackets, and raincoats to all its public school students.

Binay added that aside from the school kits, the city also has free internet and Mobile Learning Hub that are being deployed to various barangays in Makati to ensure that children will have access to the internet for their educational and research needs.

Aside from the school supplies and essentials, the city government also gave 47,212 anti-dengue kits to public school students following the return of face-to-face classes and surge in dengue cases in the country.

Each kit contains a 250 ml mosquito repellent lotion and a wrist band with four citronella capsules that last up to three months per piece.

According to data from DepEd, in Makati City, there are 6,765 Kinder students, 6,765 Grade 1 students, 6,634 Grade 2 students, 6,556 Grade 3 students, 6,871 Grade 4 students, 6,891 Grade 5 students, 6,142 Grade 6 students, and 588 SPED learners.