Rainfall, flood warnings can now trigger class suspension

MANILA, Philippines — In-person and online classes will now be suspended from kindergarten to senior high school whenever a warning for wind, heavy rainfall or flood is issued by the state weather bureau.

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte approved yesterday the revised guidelines on automatic class suspensions, which will now be declared in all public and private basic education schools regardless of the signal number or rainfall warning level.

Under the new guidelines, classes in all levels automatically cancelled in basic education schools situated in local government units under any tropical cyclone wind signal issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

In-person and online classes are also automatically cancelled in areas under a flood or yellow, orange and red rainfall warning by PAGASA.

If a warning is issued at a time when classes have already begun, “the school shall immediately suspend the classes and work and send everyone home, if it is safe to do so,” read the order.

Local chief executives may still declare class and work suspensions even if their areas are not under typhoon wind signals or heavy rainfall and flood warnings.

The new policy revises the decades-long practice of suspending classes depending on the signal number.

The previous guidelines automatically suspended classes in kindergarten in areas under Signal No. 1; up to senior high school when Signal No. 2; and all levels when Signal No. 3 or above.

The Commission on Higher Education has yet to issue a statement on whether it will update its policy for college level.

Earthquakes

The new DepEd policy also mandates the automatic class suspension in areas affected by an earthquake with Intensity 5 or above as declared by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

“Local chief executives shall decide on the cancellation or suspension of classes in cases where the Phivolcs Earthquake Intensity Scale is IV (four) and below,” read the order.

“School Principals can cancel classes at any Intensity Scale if in their assessment, building and other structures are seen to be in danger of collapsing or is found to have major damage,” it added.

Whenever classes are suspended, the DepEd said teaching and non-teaching personnel in schools and its offices shall not be required to report to work, “except those who are mandated to render security, safety, finance, engineering, sanitation, health and disaster response duties.”

But it said disaster risk reduction and management teams should be activated to prepare, monitor and respond to the situation.

“Schools, on the other hand, must always be ready to implement remote work with measured output,” it added.

In the event of class suspensions, distance learning or make up classes shall be implemented to ensure that learning competencies and objectives are still met.

Duterte also prohibited the use of schools as quarantine facilities or vaccination centers.

The use of schools as disaster evacuation centers was also limited to 15 days.

She lifted the earlier authority given to regional directors to allow the use of schools as isolation facilities, as well as repealed the memorandum on the use of DepEd classrooms and other facilities as vaccination centers. learning tasks.

Psychosocial support will also be provided to students, teachers and other personnel affected by disasters.

Quarantine, vaccination center

“In cases of other disasters, schools may be used as an immediate evacuation site which should not last for more than fifteen days,” read the order.

“Local government units should not use schools as long-term shelters for evacuees,” it added.