DepEd opens to remove recess time during class hours

Department of Education spokesman Michael Poa said they are open to the suggestion of a pediatric infectious disease expert to remove break time during class hours to cut possible transmission.

“We are always open to the suggestions of the experts,” he said, noting that the present policy prohibits students from eating together during breaks and, if the space inside schools will not allow students to eat separately, they should at least do so while facing the same direction.

Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, professor and chief of Infectious and Tropical Diseases in Pediatrics of the Philippine General Hospital, urged school to rethink having break time.

“Will there be a need for recess if they spend only half a day in school? The child will not easily get hungry then. Or the school can issue an advisory that there will be no recess, so the kids should eat proper breakfast before going to classes,” she said in a mix of Filipino and English in an earlier interview with The Chiefs.

“Will definitely consider that during this transition period,” Poa said when asked about Lim’s proposal.