The Department of Education is leaving it to the discretion of school heads in Negros Occidental to implement necessary measures to protect learners and teachers from rising temperatures.
A heat index of 40 degrees Celsius, the highest forecasted, hit Negros Occidental on Thursday, March 7, prompting the state weather bureau Pagasa to advice the public to observe extreme caution.
The heat indexes in Iloilo and Roxas City were at 42 and 43 degrees Celsius, respectively.
PAGASA Administrator Nathaniel Servando said a strong El Niño will be felt until May.
Ian Arnold Arnaez, DepEd – Negros Occidental spokesman, said no across the board rule has been set on how schools should adopt to the rising heat.
School heads will have to decide what modes of learning to adopt depending on the condition in their areas, he said.
Some schools could shorten face-to-face classes and shift to modular or online distance learning, Arnaez said.
He said the weather condition in the hinterlands is different from the lowlands.
What is important is that the school heads submit their learning continuity plan, he said.
Some learners have been suffering from fever, but the situation is not alarming, he said.
The DepEd has no policy on uniforms, learners can go to school in civilian clothes provided they are decent, he said.*