TRIPARTITE MOA. Showing copies of the memorandum of agreement they signed are (L-R): city health office OIC Dr. Carlos Mercado, CHED regional director Maria Teresita Semana, Mayor Edwin Santiago, OLFU president Dr. Caroline Enriquez, and CDRRMO OIC Raymond del Rosario. Photo by Joann Manabat
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The Our Lady of Fatima University has secured the green light to open its premises to hold limited face-to-face classes as announced during a tripartite meeting at the school’s auditorium here on Wednesday.
OLFU is the first higher educational institution (HEI) outside Metro Manila to receive the certificate of authority from the Commission on Higher Education in order to hold limited F2F classes.
A memorandum of agreement to this effect was signed by Mayor Edwin Santiago, CHED regional director Maria Teresita Semana, OLFU president Dr. Caroline Enriquez, city health office OIC Dr. Carlos Mercado, and city disaster risk and reduction management office Raymond del Rosario.
According to Santiago, the tripartite meeting is needed to fulfill the obligations in opening the classes for the graduating students: “Ito po ay kailangan. Ino-obliga na po tayo na dapat mag bukas na po tayo ng klase.”
“Ang pagbubukas ng limited face-to-face ay intended sa mga medical workers natin. Natutuwa ang siyudad na qualified ang OLFU na sinusunod niya lahat ng protocols and standard para magkaroon ng limited and blended education,” added Santiago.
Enriquez clarified that only three medical courses are being offered as they gradually reopen their campus for limited F2F classes for their graduating students. She added that the F2F classes are not mandatory.
“We are only opening three programs here, medical technology, physical therapy, and nursing,” said Enriquez. “But we will open them gradually within the semester. This is also voluntary. So, we give them options to go face-to-face or go online,” Enriquez furthered.
The OLFU president also said that the schedule for the gradual reopening of their campus is still “tentative” to set it towards the last six weeks of the semester. She stressed that one of their requirements for limited F2F classes is for their students to be PhilHealth members.
“What we require our students is for them to be PhilHealth members. Kung dependent sila sa PhilHealth through their parents, they have to make sure their PhilHealth is updated as well,” Enriquez said.
For her part, CHED’s Semana said that under the guidelines on gradual reopening of campuses on HEIs, there are several other requirements including specific age limit for the students which should be at least 20 years old and above.
Based on the CHED guidelines, there are only six approved courses for the limited F2F, namely medicine, nursing, medical technology or medical laboratory science, midwifery, physical therapy, and public health.
“Hindi po lahat ng students ay pwedeng mag F2F. May qualifier po tayo. May specific na subject or courses lang. But we are encouraging all HEIs na kung kaya po ng flexible learning, mas maganda po,” said Semana. “In order to complete the requirements of the students, may mga subjects at courses na hindi kaya ng flexible learning. Kailangan talagang pumunta sila sa campus to do the laboratories.”
“Kailangan may pagsang-ayon ang mga magulang at estudiyante mismo. Magkakaroon din po tayo ng alternative learning para continuous learning pa din at kailangan quality graduates, kumpleto pa din sila sa kanilang kaalaman at skill sets,” she added.
Semana expressed hope that since OLFU has already taken the first step, other HEIs here can follow as they have a basis and guide with the gradual reopening of campuses as it will be the signal to seek approval from President Duterte to open more programs for F2F.
