The Department of Education said it is working to听establish听a uniform national class suspension protocol to curb learning loss amid national disasters.听听听
鈥淛ust like what President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said, we need to face and prepare for the challenges that disasters bring to education,鈥 Education Secretary Juan Edgardo 鈥淪onny鈥 M. Angara said in Filipino in a news release.听听听
鈥淲e cannot stop the storm, but we can prepare better so that decisions are swift, clear, and well-coordinated when the safety and future of our children are at stake,鈥 he added.听听听
To address the worsening impact of the climate crisis, the Education department, together with other government agencies, aims to develop a Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) advisory template to help local governments issue a 鈥渢imely and consistent鈥 suspension announcement.听听
The agencies also agreed to require regional and division offices to report the frequency and impact of class suspensions and publish official data on lost school days.听听听
Meanwhile, the make-up class policy and Alternative Delivery Modes (ADM) will be strengthened to keep learners engaged when in-person classes are cancelled.听听
鈥淲hile modular and online learning options have helped sustain instruction during disruptions, DepEd noted that these cannot fully replace face-to-face learning, especially for younger students who still depend on close teacher guidance,鈥 the department said.听听听
Under DepEd Order 22,听Series of听2024, local executives, school division superintendents, and school heads have the authority to suspend classes based on advisories from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), field conditions, and readiness to resume learning.听听听
Citing the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the DepEd said that every听additional听day of school closure decreases a Grade 4 student鈥檚 achievement by up to 12.4 points in mathematics and 13.9 points in science.听听
The study added that 10 class suspensions can lower a child鈥檚 science score from 500听to below听380.听听听
In the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) report for School Year 2023-2024, more than 20 school days were lost due to climate-related events,听impacting听over 11 million learners, or about 42% of the听public school听population.听听听
鈥淲e understand that safety must always come first,鈥 Mr. Angara said. 鈥淏ut we also need to be ready to help students recover from lost time. Our goal is to make every day of learning count,听rain听or shine.鈥听鈥斕Almira Louise S. Martinez
