The Department of Education (DepEd) was urged to revert the school calendar of basic education to its pre-pandemic schedule as teachers and students in public schools endure the harsh heat in classrooms during the dry season. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers NCR Union (ACT NCR Union), in a statement issued Wednesday, March 29, expressed deep concern for the health and well-being of learners and teachers who are inside the classrooms during face-to-face classes. School Year (SY) 2022-2023 marked the first in-classroom classes during the warm season after two years of distance learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “As teachers, we are committed to providing quality education to our students, but this becomes increasingly challenging in classrooms with inadequate ventilation and unbearable heat,” ACT said.

Grave hardships of students, teachers

An online survey conducted by ACT from March 24 to 27 revealed that 87 percent of 11,706 public school teachers nationwide reported that students cannot focus on their lessons due to the intolerable heat in classrooms. The survey showed that about 37 percent said that the heat “triggered the existing medical conditions of teachers and students.” Meanwhile, 40 percent of the respondents noted that “more learners have been missing classes” since the dry season started. ACT noted that in public schools, classrooms heavily rely on electric fans for ventilation as 97 percent of respondents said that they use electric fans while only one percent have air conditioners and two percent only depend on natural ventilation. “One can only imagine the misery of our learners and teachers inside cramped classrooms with no effective ventilation and amid the gruelling summer heat,” said ACT Chairman Vladimer Quetua. ACT said that the classroom atmosphere remains not conducive to learning as only 0.5 percent of respondents deem their classroom conditions as “pleasant.” About 32 percent said that the temperature inside their classrooms is “bearable,” while 67 percent noted that the heat is “intolerable.” ACT survey showed that 62 percent of the teacher-respondents were teaching in classes with 36 to 50 students. About 27 percent have classes numbering 35 learners or less each while 11 percent have large classes of 50 or more learners. The survey also revealed that 64 percent of teacher-respondents have existing medical conditions while 82 percent have students with temperature-sensitive ailments. This situation, ACT noted, has led to many students and teachers experiencing headaches, dizziness, nose-bleeding, and other health issues. “Unfortunately, our schools have no appropriate health facilities and personnel to address these concerns, and absenteeism is becoming a more serious problem,” ACT said.

Address the issue

Given the results of its survey, ACT called on the DepEd to “urgently address” this issue and provide solutions to ensure the safety and well-being of our students and teachers. ACT is proposing the installation of air conditioners in classrooms, changing the class schedules to avoid the hottest hours of the day, and implementing blended learning by alternately holding face-to-face classes in the mornings and distance learning modalities at home. “Furthermore, we demand that the school calendar be reverted to its pre-pandemic schedule when school break coincided with the summer months,” it added. ACT said that as educators, they cannot fulfill their mandate to provide quality education if the students and teachers are suffering from the harsh heat inside the classrooms. “We need urgent and concrete solutions that will ensure the safety and well-being of all those involved in the education sector,” ACT ended.