Students should not have to choose between their safety and education, the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) said Sunday, rejecting the notion that class suspensions during dangerous weather are to blame for the country’s learning crisis.

Responding to Education Commission 2 (EDCOM 2) executive director Karol Mark Yee’s warning that repeated class suspensions could widen learning gaps, NUSP said floods, impassable roads and other hazards make suspensions necessary. The deeper problem, it said, is chronic underfunding and government neglect.

“Students and teachers must not risk their lives to meet certain metrics based on output rather than holistic development and overall well-being,” NUSP said.

Instead, the government should address the conditions that undermine learning even when classes are in session, the group said, citing dilapidated classrooms, overworked and underpaid teachers and inadequate support services for students.