The Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MBHTE-BARMM) has started the pilot run of limited face-to-face (F2F) classes at five schools in Basilan province.

MBHTE Minister Mohagher Iqbal said in a statement Tuesday the Damaso C. Furigay Jr. Memorial National High School, Mt. Trail Elementary School, and Ulame Elementary School in Lamitan City; Akbar Elementary School in Akbar municipality; and, Upper Bans Elementary School in Lantawan town started the F2F classes on Monday.

Iqbal said the Basilan schools were among the 15 schools confirmed by the MBHTE’s regional validating team as having a 100-percent compliance with the school safety assessment tool (SSAT) for F2F classes.

The SSAT is used to assess the readiness of the schools to participate in the pilot of the F2F learning modality amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Basilan is already eligible to pilot F2F classes in five schools since the province is under Alert Level 2.

Jomar Dindin, head of the Mt. Trail Elementary School in Lamitan City, said students, who came in their new uniforms with new backpacks and school supplies, were excited to have attended F2F classes for the first time two years since the pandemic.

“(We) are very much happy to welcome both our teachers and pupils. They arrived early at school and were very excited,” Dindin said.

Meanwhile, Sharida Jean De Guzman, a teacher at the Damasco C. Furigay Jr. Memorial National High School, also shared her excitement that the students can now finally focus on their studies.

“We do not know if they are the ones doing their module during the modular system of schooling. Now, we can assess them under the F2F mode,” De Guzman said.

“To the BARMM officials, especially the MBHTE, thanks for allowing us to have F2F classes since the students need to focus on their studies,” she added.

Iqbal said other validated schools with a 100-percent SSAT compliance will start piloting F2F classes once their local government units get classified under Alert Levels 1 or 2. (PNA)