DOH welcomes shortened period in schools amid heatwaves

The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday welcomed the implementation of shortened class periods in schools amid heatwaves.

"Some schools declared blended learning, some schools declared heat breaks so pag pinakamainit hindi sila mag-i-school (so when it's the hottest they don't go to school). Very important yan," DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa said in a press briefing.

He, however, noted that it's the decision of the school if it will implement an asynchronous mode of learning or suspend classes amid high heat indices and based on the environment of the school.

"It's really the decision of the school based on the environment. Kung mahangin naman doon sa eskwelahan nila or yung ceiling mataas, hindi naman congested yung classroom (If it's windy in their school or their ceiling is high, and the clasroom is not congested), I think that's okay, they can continue. Pero kung (But if) yung environment is really bad, I think that should be the decision to hold alternative methods of learning," Herbosa explained.

"Welcome na welcome ito kasi the kids are also vulnerable to the weather. [Because] some kids walk kilometers to get to school, lalo sa probinsya (Especially in the province). Pawis na pawis na yun tapos pagpasok sa school mainit pa. Blended learning talaga ang solusyon (They are sweaty as they go to school and when they arrive, it's still hot. Blended learning is really the solution)," he added.

A total of 5,844 schools nationwide have now suspended in-person classes and moved to delivery modes amid the extreme weather conditions in the country, the Department of Education (DepEd) said Thursday.

Based on DepEd's data, Central Luzon recorded the most schools that suspended face-to-face classes at 1,124.

The local government of Makati, on the other hand, said it has modified the school schedule of students -- students in the morning shift will have their classes from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., while those in the afternoon shift will have classes from 3:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines Diliman has recommended to its faculty members to shift to remote classes during extreme heat conditions.

According to the child rights group Save the Children Philippines (SCP), about 26 million Filipino learners are suffering most from climate change.

Moreover, according to a study conducted by SCP, Filipino children born in 2020 are going to suffer 4.9 times more severe heatwaves, 2.3 times more river floods, 1.2 times more droughts, and 1.5 times more crop losses than their grandparents or those born sixty years ago.