HEATurn: Petitions set ablaze

By: Lian Maye Tan

“Students learn in a child-friendly, gender-sensitive, safe, and motivating environment”.

Extracted from Department of Education’s mission --- a passage recited during flag ceremonies. Served as an electrolyte to help the sector get through a week of educating and nurturing Filipino learners. With the current weather condition, the vocation is deemed to be forgotten and taken for granted.

Together with the highest seat of power being occupied, DepEd also welcomed its newly appointed secretary, Vice President Sarah Duterte-Carpio who vowed to put the learners’ welfare at the center of her leadership. However, with the heat index soaring dramatically high, studs are faced with a tragic demise.

On the other hand, The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) released an advisory that put the whole country under “extreme caution” and “danger” category because of heat indices 35-44 degrees Celsius.

The severity of scorching heat is set to rise due to climate change. As the level of greenhouse gas climb up in the atmosphere, it causes an increase in the risks of hot weather. With that being said, Philippines has to adapt to fiercer heat episodes.

The Department of Health released an advisory, reminding the public to be cautious of heat stroke --- a most severe form of heat illness that induced dehydration because the body had lost its capability to cool down. With the classrooms’ overpopulation, exceeding the 1 is to 40 ratio required --learners are the most vulnerable.

In addition, cases of nosebleed, dizziness, dehydration, and headaches are most prevalent at this point. That is why it has been encouraged to monitor the combination of heat and humidity for it prevents the human body from maintaining its cool through releasing sweat.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers’ (ACT) union on March 29, urged the education sector to reconsider adjusting the class schedules to avoid the day’s hottest hours or bring back the pre-pandemic school calendar, after the Department of Health has recorded 118 cases of heat exhaustion as of April 11.

According to the survey done by the said union, 67% of teachers felt that the heat in their classrooms are intolerable and 87% of respondents also disclosed that students could not focus on their lessons.

Greg Libecci, a resource manager from Salt Lake District said that school cannot ignore the climate crisis and it has to be a priority.

In the Philippines, intensity is at its finest as the hot dry season begins its feat. With the debris left by COVID-19, class schedules are now messed up. The ACT union expressed their deep concerns to the students and teachers as the agonizing heat continued to persist.

“As teachers, we are committed to providing quality education to our students, but this becomes increasingly challenging in classrooms with inadequate ventilation and unbearable heat” ACT said.

As of now, DepEd has not made any confirmation regarding the Filipino’s plea to compromise one academic year to bring the schedule back to its original place.

With the Education’s mission being used in this context, the sector should not only acknowledge the problem but actually provide long-term solutions about it. Resiliency and the innate capacity of Filipinos to cope up should not be the hindrance to demand liability and greater service from government officials. At the end of the day, we are on the same page ---- craving for progress.