A teacher’s group on Monday called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to do something to alleviate the suffering of teachers and learners enduring the sweltering heat as classes resumed on Monday after the Holy Week break.
According to Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) chairperson Benjo Basas, the department should not wait for a repeat of last year’s incidents where many students fell ill due to extremely hot weather while some teachers could not go to schools due to health concerns.
Basas said that DepEd should shorten class hours to mitigate the impact of heat during school days, and to accelerate the transition to the old school calendar by ending the 2024-2025 school year by mid-April next year to facilitate a faster transition.
“We can shorten the class hours or have shifting to avoid too much heat of the sun, or allow teachers and learners to wear comfortable clothes. If not and their health will be at risk, that’s the time that we employ distance learning modalities,” Basas said.
“We hope DepEd will also consider shortening the next school year and finish it by mid-April to make the transition faster. We are just avoiding April and May,” Basas added.
Basas said under the current DepEd plan, schools will only revert to the old school calendar — wherein classes starts in June and ends in March — two or even three years from now.
Last February, the DepEd issued an order adjusting the end of the current school year from 15 June to 31 May.
The same order also set the opening and closing dates for school year 2024-2025 as 16 July 2024 and 16 May 2025, respectively.
Heat index
The latest report from the weather state bureau Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) shows that four provinces in the country are expected to experience a heat index of 42 degrees Celsius and above on Monday.
In its latest forecast, PAGASA said that the highest heat index of 43°C may hit Aparri, Cagayan, and Catarman, Northern Samar.
CBSUA in Pili, Camarines Sur, and Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur, on the other hand, is projected to experience a heat index of 42 °C.
The Department of Science and Technology’s PAGASA defines heat index as the human discomfort index that gives the “apparent” temperature, or what humans perceive or feel as the temperature affecting their body.
The effect-based danger classification ranges from 42°C to 51°C, and its effects on the body are that heat cramps and exhaustion are likely, and heat stroke is probable with continued exposure.
Since summer-related illness are on the rise during the El Niño season, that’s why the Department of Health (DoH) shared a couple of tips to survive the summer heat.
To prevent heat stroke, the DoH advised to move a person to a cool or shady place.