DepEd: Regional directors may adjust class schedules amid severe heat

Amid the intolerable heat being felt in some schools this dry season, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday said its regional directors and superintendents have the authority to move class schedules to early morning or in the late afternoon.

DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas recalled that last year, the schools division offices in the National Capital Region modified the class schedules to mitigate the impacts of the extreme heat to students and teachers.

“Because of the intolerable heat, nagkaron ng directives ang ating mga schools division offices na mag-modify ng kanilang mga class schedules para earlier ang kanilang pasok and then in the afternoon, later ang kanilang pag-start in the afternoon para maiwasan ‘yung masyadong mainit na period during the middle of the day,” Bringas said in a Balitanghali interview.

(Because of the intolerable heat, our schools division offices gave directives to modify their class schedules so that classes would start earlier in the morning and late in the afternoon in order to avoid the extreme heat during the middle of the day.)

He also said that outdoor activities may be omitted between 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. to prevent students from having direct exposure to sun.

Several schools and local government units have already suspended in-person classes and temporarily shifted to alternative delivery modes due to the severe heat. 

The DepEd has also reminded school heads that they can decide on their own if face-to-face classes need to be suspended in their respective schools due to the heat aggravated by the El Niño phenomenon.

The agency also announced that students and teachers could wear more comfortable clothing—which is subject to dress codes—aside from their regular uniforms, to reduce the heat they feel while inside the schools.

Bringas said that coping learning exercises will be done in schools once students return to  face-to-face classes, in order to make up for the lost competencies when blended learning is implemented.

“Itong ating pagsi-shift ito alternative delivery modes, hindi naman matutumbasan talaga ng ating face-to-face classes. But definitely, hindi naman ito permanent na naka ADM tayo because it’s only temporary, depending on the heat index or 'yung nararamdamang init sa mga paaralan,” he added.

(Our alternative delivery modes could not really compare with face-to-face classes. But definitely, we will not implement ADM permanently because it's only temporary, depending on the heat index or the heat being felt in schools.)

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT)-National Capital Region Union said Monday that their survey found that 77% of NCR public school teachers could no longer bear the extreme heat in classrooms.

Of those polled, 87% admitted that the stifling heat in classrooms adversely affected the focus of students during class hours. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News