To address extreme heat: Morning classes only

CEBU, Philippines —  Instead of joining other local government units (LGUs) in suspending face-to-face classes due to the extreme heat, Cebu City is set to implement adjustments of class schedules, as per consensus reached by different stakeholders.

In his online program “Ingna’ng Mayor” over the City’s Sugboanon Channel, Mayor Michael Rama yesterday said there are national guidelines concerning calamities and disasters, although they need to be revisited especially on the matter on climate change.

He reminded everyone that he already issued Executive Order No. 1 in August 2022 that granted authority to school heads to decide if they want to suspend classes in any exigency, which was why he earlier said that unlike other LGUs, he would not declare suspension of classes and would leave the decision-making to the school heads, as they know more the specific situations of their respective schools.

However, since most schools end up waiting for him to make the announcement, he convened a multi-sectoral convergence meeting, with the Department of Education (DepEd) among the participants.

It has been his experience, especially during the Covid pandemic, that convergence meetings are very effective in coming up with measures in dealing with crisis situations.

He said that following that meeting, a paradigm shift has been agreed upon.

“Unsa man ni nga paradigm shift? Usbon namo ang oras sa pag-eskwela. Unya ni-agree ang DepEd,” Rama said.

He said it was initially proposed to start the daily school day at 5 a.m., but it was deemed too early so the decision was to have school start at 6 a.m. and end at 11 a.m., with no classes in the afternoon.

“I am now preparing an executive order (EO) to really bring…about changing the time in going to school,” Mayor Rama said.

Along with this, he instructed the City’s Department of General Services to immediately ensure good street lighting especially in the mountain barangays for the safety of students going to school early in the morning.

The Philippine National Police and the Liga ng mga Barangay-Cebu City are also expected to assist on this.

Mayor Rama said he would also consult private school administrators and get their feedback about the proposal before signing the EO.

He said the proposal is better compared to suspending face-to-face classes, where students end up just playing around and therefore unproductive.

“You have to be somehow with precision…calculated risk, calibrated move,” he said.

It was noted that schools were caught off guard by the sudden suspension of classes in several LGUs the students ended up just roaming around as no lesson modules were already at hand for them. — /RHM (FREEMAN)