Over 62,000 basic education students here returned to school on Monday after two years of distant and blended learning due to coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic restrictions.

Department of Education (DepEd) Tacloban schools’ division superintendent Mariza Magan said classes have opened smoothly in all 63 campuses after months of preparations.

As of 8 a.m., the city has recorded 62,619 enrollment or 87 percent of the 71,539 registered from Kindergarten to Grade 12 in the past school year.

“We have many things we have considered for the opening of this school year to ensure the safety of our students. We have been doing our best and we ask everyone’s discipline for their safety,” Magan told reporters.

Inside the campus of Leyte National High School (LNHS), thousands of learners attended the first flag ceremony with school officials repeatedly reminding students to adhere to minimum public health standards.

Magan encouraged students to always wear their face masks and regularly wash or sanitize their hands.

During mealtime, students are discouraged to face each other.

“If Covid-19 cases will go up due to conduct of in-person classes, the local government may suspend classes since safety is the primary concern. Teaching will still go on through other modalities but face-to-face is the most effective way,” Magan told students.

To avoid overcrowding, LNHS information officer Benjie Jude Lamoglar said students will attend classes three days in a week. For two days, students will learn from modules at home.

“For the first week, we will conduct orientation and psychosocial support activities. For two years, education was implemented through a distance learning modality. Teachers will be welcoming back learners with diverse experiences of the effects of the pandemic,” Lamoglar said.

LNHS is the largest secondary school in Eastern Visayas with a student population of 10,118, higher than last school year’s 9,800 enrollment. (PNA)