BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Department of Education (DepEd)-Schools Division of Negros Occidental does not see any problem if schools resort to blended learning due to soaring classroom temperatures.
Ian Arnold Arnaiz, DepEd-NegOcc spokesperson, said all schools in the province already have the experience on the blended learning system.
DepEd is allowing schools to suspend classes and adopt modular or online classes if temperatures in classrooms become intolerable this dry season.
Arnaiz said the province has so far no major health-related incidents in schools due to the hot weather.
However, in Cadiz City some students experienced epistaxis or nosebleeding and dizziness, according to Arlene Bermejo, superintendent of DepEd-Schools Division of Cadiz City.
Schools thus hold normal classes in the morning and switch to blended learning in the afternoon, she added.
Earlier this month, a local teachers’ federation in Bacolod City joined calls for a return to the previous April-to-May school break after receiving complaints from students and parents over the uncomfortable learning conditions in classrooms due to the high temperatures.
Richard Gelangre, president of the Bacolod City Public School Teachers Federation, said it is not only the students who are complaining but the teaching staff, too.
Calls for a return to the previous June to March academic period stemmed from an incident in Calamba, Laguna last month. Several students were hospitalized due to heat exhaustion during a fire drill./PN
