THERE will be no classes in all forms in all levels in public schools in the country from May 2 to 13, 2022.The Department of Education (DepEd) announced on Monday, April 18, the suspension of classes from kindergarten to Grade 12, may it be limited face-to-face classes or modular blended learning for 12 consecutive days.The move was based on DepEd Order 29, s. 2021, or the School Calendar and Activities for School Year 2021-2022, allocating such days for the National Election-related Activities for faculty and staff.Teachers, however, are expected to report to schools on days when there are no election-related duties or activities.Private schools and state or local universities and colleges offering basic education have the choice to implement or deviate from the order.Central Visayas has more or less 3,000 public grade schools in 20 divisions.As of April 2, more than 1,000 public and private grade schools had so far started the implementation of limited face-to-face classes.DepEd 7 Director Salustiano Jimenez, however, is yet to give the number of personnel in the region who are expected to participate as poll workers in the May 9 elections.DepEd Mandaue City spokesperson Marinel Oro earlier said about 1,600 personnel from their school division had been undergoing training since March 28. These included the electoral board members, DepEd supervising officer, technicians and support staff.The country shifted to blended and distance learning in 2020 due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.In November 2021, several schools started conducting limited in-person classes following the decrease in Covid-19 cases.The DepEd earlier said 13,692 public and private schools with around 3.1 million students are currently participating in progressive expansion of face-to-face classes. (MKG, TPM / SunStar Philippines)