A 50-PERCENT face-to-face class scheme will be implemented by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) Baguio-Benguet Field Office.
Vilma Cabrera, Tesda Baguio–Benguet provincial director, explained under face-to-face learning, restrictions will be followed under the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) guidelines.
“If we have 25 students in a regular class, 50 percent only or 12 students will be allowed for face-to-face training. For example, for welding students, the face-to-face learning procedure will depend on the trainers' schedules, which is normally done in the last part of a 20-day training program or the last 10 days of training,” Cabrera said.
Tesda was given the green light to resume most of its training activities by the IATF-EID, following the release of Resolution No. 47 Series of 2020 on June 19 that allowed it to continue the conduct of training programs “related to agriculture/fishery qualifications for food production and processing, distance learning for technical vocational education and training (TVET) programs, and e -Learning components of blended learning for TVET programs.
The Baguio City Council in an earlier resolution disallowed the conduct of face-to-face training.
“We asked the City Council for Tesda to be exempted considering that we have a different delivery of training as compared to higher education and the Department of Education. We are just waiting for the amendments as promised to us. I think other provincial offices of Tesda will also be following what we did,” Cabrera said.
Tesda earlier submitted recommendations concerning the resumption of training and assessment activities to the IATF for inclusion in the Omnibus Guidelines on Community Quarantine in the Philippines.
Aside from the 50-percent allowable trainees, Tesda will also implement one-meter distancing during face-to-face training, aside from the strict adherence to the minimum health protocols set by the IATF and the Department of Health.