With fewer school days due to the rising number of typhoons hitting the Philippines in recent months, Secretary of Education Sonny Angara ordered the Department of Education (DepEd) to review its existing policies on class suspensions.
Photo: Department of Education (DepEd)/website
In an interview with Radyo Singko 92.3 News FM, Education Undersecretary for governance and field operations Revsee Escobedo said that Angara wanted a “more immediate” review of their policies.
“Secretary Angara wants us to speed up this review. His instruction was that by next week, we should report our draft amendments to DO (DepEd Order) 37,” Escobedo said.
Under DO 37, class suspensions during inclement weather highly depend on the discretion of local government authorities. Moreover, in-person and online classes, as well as work, from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and the Alternative Learning System (ALS), are automatically canceled if the city they belong to is included under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals (TCWS) 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, as issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
However, in cases of strong winds, flooding, and unexpected heavy rains in a specific area or all areas of a particular local government unit (LGU), but without a TCWS issued by PAGASA, the local chief executive will be the one deciding on the cancellation or suspension of classes.
The DO 37 is mandatory for all public schools, while private schools “have the option to abide” by the order.
As of this academic year, 36 learning days have already been lost due to numerous class suspensions nationwide. This is caused by recent typhoons that have impacted the country since July up until November.
Meanwhile, in the previous academic year, cancellation and suspension of classes in Metro Manila were caused by extreme heat or heavy floods, earthquakes, and other factors.
To “remedy” the increasing class suspensions nationwide, Escobedo said that the DepEd is eyeing to conduct longer class hours per day, make-up classes, or a shortened academic break.
“Some regional directors, especially in Region 5, Region 6, and CAR, have already committed to conduct make-up classes on Saturdays. Other schools said they would allot additional time. For example, in Kinder, the four hours (of classes) a day will be five hours a day to compensate for the lost days,” he said.
He added: “Other regional directors said their academic break on Nov. 25 to 29 will instead be used for make-up classes.”
The reviewing of the existing policy would be drastically helpful to strengthen the current learning program despite the uncertainties in weather.
“What Secretary Angara wants is to have a balance between prioritizing the safety and welfare of our teachers and learners, but on the other hand, ensure that the class suspensions are reasonable and would not further exacerbate the learning crisis that we are currently in,” Escobedo said.
