Need for calendar shift Need for calendar shift Need for calendar shift

BY PAWIE LINTAG Intense.Harsh.Intolerable.

These words are often used to describe thesummerheathereinthePhilippinesand they are proven a reality after 112 students in Laguna were sent to hospitals after taking part in an unannounced fire drill that exposed them to the extreme heat last March This prompted lawmakers to urge the Department of Education to go back to the June-to-March calendar to give students reprieve from being in school during the hottest months of April and May in the country

Sadly, the call seems to have been heard by deaf ears as the department said that they have no plans to revert to the old school calendar just yet. This is because, according to DepEd, the suggestion is still being studied as there are other factors that must be considered. For the meantime, the education departmentissuedadirectivetoschoolheads giving them the discretion to implement Alternative Delivery Modes (ADMs) of learning if the situations in their respective schools become“toohot”forface-to-faceclasses

WhileDepEdensuresthatthesuggestion of reverting back to the pre-pandemic schoolcalendarisnotunreasonable,it should promptlyaddresstheconcernandprovidea more definite long-term resolution to ensure thesafetyandwell-beingofthestudents

DepEd should recognize that being exposed to extreme heat during the summer months poses health risks to Filipino learners Last April, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) recorded “dangerous” Heat Index levels in many locations across the country with temperatures reaching as high as 43°C, which according to the weather bureau, may cause heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and probable heat stroke with continued exposure In point of fact, a survey of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) showed that the summer heat has triggered the existing medical conditions of both teachersandstudents

Shifting back to the old school calendar may not be immediately done because that would entail no breaks for learners and teachers, but DepEd should avoid relying solely on ADMs as the default solution and put into consideration the health of our students The department should carefully analyzethedataandcomeupwithsolutions that will offer more long-term results such as building adequate classrooms and providing necessary resources to improve the current learning conditions our learners have

Additionally, the learning environment is tightly linked with the learning of students and a classroom that is too hot will not be conducivetolearning.Infact,thesurveyfrom ACTshowedthattheharshsummerheathas alreadyaffectedtheattendanceandlearning of students Combined with more than 30 to 60 students cramped inside the classroom, classroom conditions in the current set up have become “intolerable”, resulting in the learner's lack of focus in their lessons and absenteeism. According to ACT, teachers have noted that more students have been missingclassessincethestartofsummer.

Ultimately, given the detrimental impacts of the current school calendar on the health of learners and teachers and quality of education, DepEd should be more proactiveinaddressingtheconcernandshift back to the old academic calendar DepEd should come up with its resolution to proposals and suggestions regarding this issue as fast as possible After all, the education department cannot fulfill their mandate of providing every Filipino with quality education if students are suffering from the intense, harsh, and intolerable summerheat