863 public schools across the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) have returned to face-to-face operations in advance of the gradual transition to returning to normalcy in the region.
According to Assistant Regional Director of the Department of Education Cordillera Office (Dep-Ed CAR) Dr. Florante Vergara, the bulk of the schools returning to face-to-face (F2F) operations are elementary schools, which amount to 678 of the 863.
Of the remaining schools, 162 are dedicated secondary schools, while the remaining 23 are integrated schools or those that have both elementary and secondary divisions.
The highest number of schools returning to face-to-face is in Mountain Province with 267; 265 in Benguet; 207 in Ifugao; 61 in Tabuk City and 48 in Kalinga for a total of 109 in total; eight in Apayao; five in Abra; and two in Baguio City.
In total, Vergara said that there are 109,568 across the 863 schools that are enrolled in the current school term.
In terms of enrolled students, Benguet had the greatest number of students in in-person classes with 38,883, followed by Ifugao with 30,207; Mountain Province with 20,504; Tabuk City with 15,531; Kalinga with 2,067; Apayao – 1,385; Abra – 686; and Baguio City with 305.
However, more than 863 schools have been cleared for F2F operations, with 1,163 having passed the School Safety Assessment Tool (SSAT).