THE Department of Education (DepEd) urged local government units to be as specific as possible in the suspension and resumption of classes due to and following inclement weather to ensure a balance between protecting safety and avoiding unnecessary loss of learning time.
DepEd, along with other concerned government agencies, is crafting a proposed Executive Order (EO) on the Suspension and Resumption of Classes and Work in Educational Institutions and Other Related Matters.
The proposed EO aims to establish a more responsive framework for suspension and resumption decisions while keeping the safety of learners, teachers, and school personnel as the foremost consideration.
Under the measure, suspension and resumption decisions may be automatic, localized, or granular, depending on the nature and extent of the risk.
For localized suspensions, DepEd is encouraging LGUs to identify the specific areas, such as municipalities, cities, or schools, that are actually affected by a hazard.
The agency cited the situation in several schools in Calumpit, Bulacan, that remain flooded or are being used as evacuation centers.
Other schools in the said municipality, however, were already suitable to hold classes.
The agency said granular resumption may only be considered when there has already been a broader or blanket suspension and a school, based on a documented site-specific assessment, determines that conditions are safe for the return of in-person classes.
It is, however, subject to the required coordination or concurrence with the concerned LGU, particularly when the LGU has already declared a suspension, to avoid conflicting announcements and confusion among learners, parents, teachers, and the community.
“Our request is simple: be specific when you suspend. If the risk is limited to certain areas, identifying those areas can help schools in unaffected areas continue learning,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara said.
“We are not asking schools to override an LGU suspension. Safety must first be established, and the required coordination or concurrence with the LGU is there to ensure that everyone is working from the same information and that there are no conflicting announcements,” he added.
The agency reiterated the importance of coordination between LGUs and local disaster risk reduction and management offices and the affected education authorities, such as the Schools Division Superintendent, to help ensure that decisions are informed by conditions on the ground.
It reiterated that the safety of learners and teachers remains a top priority.
Luzon provinces have been battered by weather disturbances during most of the days of August, which led to class suspensions for weeks.
As of September 11, the agency said divisions had lost an average of four learning days across the country.
In Central Luzon, the regional average was nine lost learning days, while Pampanga had already recorded 26.
In Soccsksargen, the average was 8.4 days, while Sarangani had recorded 28.
In the National Capital Region, the average was 8.2 days, while Caloocan had recorded 25.
Since the opening of classes, 34,775 schools, or 72.49 percent of DepEd schools nationwide, had experienced class suspensions as of September 10.
“The national average does not tell the whole story. Conditions can be very different even within the same region or local government. This is why the proposed Executive Order provides a more responsive framework for decisions based on actual conditions,” Angara said. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)