CHED clarified that students were not mandated to be vaccinated to attend face-to-face classes.
CHED — The Commission on Higher Education clarified on Thursday that students were not mandated to be vaccinated to attend face-to-face classes.
CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera III recently clarified that vaccination wasn’t required for students attending limited physical classes.
During the CHED’s budget hearing in the Senate, De Vera told senators that he didn’t push for mandatory vaccination and there’s no mandatory vaccination required.
De Vera’s clarification came after Senator Francis Tolentino sought an explanation from him after the CHED official was quoted in a news article saying that the agency was considering mandatory vaccinations for students in colleges and universities.
But while De Vera said that vaccination wasn’t mandatory, he pointed out that it’s important to urge students and faculty to be vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
According to him, the coronavirus infection was very low because they were able to work with the Department of Health (DOH) so that students and faculty in medicine and allied health sciences were all vaccinated because they’re reclassified as A1.
As student-athletes started getting inoculated, De Vera said that the question of whether vaccinations were required for students in physical education classes arose.
De Vera said that it’s the schools who were saying that it’s best that student-athletes should be vaccinated because contact sports required very close individuals.
He was also asked if he would be willing to issue a CHED circular clarifying “once and for all” that students can attend physical classes regardless of their vaccination status.
“Yes, if that is needed, I will issue it,” De Vera said in response to the question.
Nevertheless, De Vera stressed that the decision to require vaccination of physical education students remained up to the colleges and universities.
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