DepEd suspends F2F classes due to heat, PUJ strike

MANILA, Philippines — Onsite classes in public schools have been suspended today and tomorrow due to the extreme heat forecast nationwide and the transport strike, according to the Department of Education (DepEd).

“In view of the latest heat index forecast of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration and the announcement of a nationwide transport strike, all public schools nationwide shall implement asynchronous classes/distance learning on April 29 and 30, 2024,” DepEd said yesterday.

Public school teachers and personnel are not required to report to schools, DepEd added.

Activities organized by Regional and Schools Division Offices such as athletic meets and other programs could still push through as scheduled “provided that measures for the safety of all participants have been carefully considered,” the agency noted.

Private schools may implement the same measures during the same period, DepEd said.

Onsite classes have been suspended for most of April due to intense heat that made classroom conditions too harsh for learning.

DepEd has since instructed schools to implement alternative delivery modes should the extreme heat render classroom instruction unbearable for students and teachers.

Education sector unions, groups and other stakeholders have been calling on the DepEd to abandon its current phased transition toward the old school calendar but the agency remains firm in its decision to slowly revert.

DepEd is currently ironing out details of the immediate transition with President Marcos as he earlier said his administration is open to immediately reverting to the old school calendar to avoid harsh classroom conditions amid extreme heat during summer.

Both the Alliance of Concerned Teachers and the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition have presented proposals to immediately shift to the old calendar in the coming school year 2024-2025 without affecting the school break and school days.

Earlier, various groups called for the return to the old school calendar, citing the heat experienced by students during March and April.

Lawmakers sought to intervene by filing proposals to shift to the old calendar, stressing the current school calendar from August to June is inappropriate in the country.

DepEd previously issued DepEd Order No. 3, s. 2024 on Feb. 19, adjusting the end of the current school year to May 31 from June 15. It also set the opening and closing dates for SY 2024-2025 on July 29, 2024 and May 16, 2025, respectively.

In Parañaque City, all public schools will shift to online classes today and tomorrow.

“This is due to the latest heat index forecast released by (the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) as well as the transport strike,” Mayor Eric Olivarez posted on Facebook.

Learners from District 2 are advised to go to school at 8 a.m. to 12 noon today for the distribution of allowances, he noted.

Summer break

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has appealed to Marcos to revert the summer school break to April and May.

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte should also consider returning to the old school calendar, Zubiri said.

“Due to the extreme heat this summer these past few days, I’m appealing to the President (and) Education Secretary Sara Duterte, that maybe we need to study and bring back the April-May break,” he said in a radio interview.

There have been many complaints of children experiencing heatstroke, he noted.

“Our kids could come back on June 15 or the second week of June. They will no longer experience this kind of heat and hardship when it comes to their studies. Maybe the only ones that can afford it are the private sector classrooms with air conditioning. In our public ones in the province, there are no electric fans, nothing,” he said.

The school calendar was adjusted following the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022.

“They made the vacation from June to August so that they could be free from the typhoon,” he recalled.

“But we see here in summer, week after week, there will be a suspension of classes due to extreme heat. So I would suggest we just go back to our summer break of March, April and May. And then let’s remove the vacation break from June to August because we can see that it is a severe torture for our students,” he added. — Cecille Suerte Felipe