The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has expressed full support to the Department of Education (DepEd) which gave schools the option to apply blended and alternative delivery modes (ADM) of learning to protect students from natural disasters and extreme climate conditions. It cited DepEd’s Order No. 037 -- the Guidelines on the Cancellation or Suspension of Classes and Work in Schools in the Event of Natural Disasters, Power Outages/Power Interruptions, and Other Calamities -- issued last April 26 which emphasized to school heads and directors that extremely high temperatures fall within the parameters of immediately canceling classes or transitioning to ADM. It expressed full support as it cited a study conducted by the International Labor Organization in 2019 that extreme temperatures due to climate change have become a safety hazard for those living in climate change-vulnerable countries. It noted that DepEd has already endorsed the return to face-to-face classes for both public and private schools, with it being optional for private schools, since there are educational and socio-emotional benefits when children have direct interactions with fellow students and their teachers. But given the extreme heat being experienced all throughout the country this summer, DepEd took action and gave schools the option to apply blended and ADM of learning, it said. The CHR said that DepEd displayed "commendable responsiveness and adaptiveness" especially after there were reports of students who experienced heat-related health issues. There was even a case in Laguna during the last week of March when dozens of students fainted due to heat exhaustion as they stayed outdoors for their school’s fire and earthquake drills, it said. "As the country’s independent national human rights institution, CHR supports DepEd’s decision to pursue blended and ADM learning to promote a safe learning environment for children pursuant to the Convention on the Rights of a Child, and a safe working environment for faculty and staff in line with international labor standards, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Convention of 1981," it also said. "Further, CHR appreciates how DepEd left this decision at the discretion of school heads, acknowledging that each school may have different experiences and capacities in dealing with the dry season heat," it added. However, the CHR reminded DepEd that there still are "persisting gaps" in the distance learning component of blended learning that should be addressed. Poor students are at a disadvantage when blended learning is applied since they do not have access to decent-performing gadgets, stable internet, and other resources, it said. "Their home environments were barely conducive for attending online classes and accomplishing school work. And in working to make ends meet, their family members could not afford to supervise and provide supplementary guidance and lessons in remote learning setups," it noted. The CHR called on DepEd and its development partners to strengthen their assistance and programs for low-income families and marginalized groups in order to prevent the widening of social inequalities. In doing so, the CHR said DepEd can focus next on long-term solutions to the impacts of climate change. Some teachers' organizations have already suggested the construction of climate-resilient classrooms and the improvement of classroom-learner and teacher-student ratios to create better learning and working environments for all people engaging in face-to-face learning sessions, it added.