The Department of Education-Schools Division of Negros Occidental (DepEd-NegOcc) has directed its personnel to mitigate the effects of the hot weather on their learners by limiting outdoor school activities.
Negros Occidental Schools Division Superintendent, Anthony Liobet, said outdoor activities should not be conducted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and time outdoors should be for limited periods of time.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson also reiterated on Tuesday, April 25, that schools should go back to a June-to-March academic calendar, to give students a break during the scorching summer months.
Students obviously cannot study well when it is very hot, he said.
Now they are considering going back to online classes but students learn better through face to face classes, he said.
Students should instead be allowed to enjoy the summer and engage in other activities, Lacson said.
“All schools are directed to put in place the necessary precautions to minimize or mitigate the effects of the hot weather,” Liobet said in Division Memorandum No. 325 Series of 2023 issued to school officials on Monday.
He said school officials should:
*Craft a contingency or response plan for extreme hot weather conditions outlining the different actions, interventions, or responses;
*Suspend or cancel classes, if necessary, to ensure the safety of everyone from the severe hot temperatures;
*Submit an initial report within 24 hours on the suspension or cancellation of classes and an incident report within 72 hours to the Division Information Officer;
*Shift to modular distance learning, in case of suspension or cancellation of classes, to ensure learning continuity; and
*Resume face-to-face classes immediately when the weather conditions are already favorable.
Liobet also directed the school officials to monitor daily heat advisories through the PAGASA website at https://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/.
The school officials were also reminded to be on the lookout for heat illness signs and symptoms, which include exhaustion or fatigue, dizziness or light headedness, blacking out or feeling dizzy when standing, weak but fast pulse, nausea and vomiting.*