• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Department of Education cancelled face-to-face classes in all public schools nationwide on April 29 and 30, due to high heat index forecast and the scheduled transport strike.
Atty. Michael Wesley Poa, DepEd undersecretary and chief of staff, in a memorandum to all schools’ division superintendents and regional directors April 28, said that “all public schools nationwide shall implement asynchronous classes/distance learning on April 29 and 30…in view of the latest heat index forecast of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, and the announcement of a nationwide transport strike.”
Teaching and non-teaching personnel in all public schools shall not be required to report to their respective stations, the memorandum added, although activities organized by regional and schools’ division offices may push through as scheduled, “provided that measures for the safety of all participants have been carefully considered”.
These events include regional athletic association meets and other division or school level programs initially scheduled for today and tomorrow.
Private schools are not covered by the face-to-face class suspension, but they shall have the option to implement the same, Poa said.
This is the third time this month that DepEd suspended face-to-face classes, the first on April 8, and then on April 15 and 16, to “allow learners to complete pending assignments, projects, and other requirements.”
As per the Pagasa Impact Assessment and Applications Section-CAD, highest heat index two-day forecast in Negros Occidental will be 42 degrees Celsius on April 29, and 43 degrees Celsius on April 30, both at danger level, with heat cramps and heat exhaustion likely, and heat stroke possible with continued exposure. | CGC
