Moving class opening to Sept poses more problems, solon says

Moving the school opening from June to September to avoid the rainy season will pose more problems for the Department of Education (DepEd), a congressman said on Friday. Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said those who propose to move the school opening to September fail to take into consideration that students would then have to go to class during the months of March, April and May. Tinio said the scorching summer heat will not be conducive to studying. “Alam naman natin ang conditions ng public schools - overcrowded classrooms and inadequate ventilation. The conditions will be inhumane and not [be] conducive for learning for students," he told GMA News Online. After the strong rains brought by tropical depression Dodong on Thursday morning — the fourth day of classes this school year — the DepEd suspended classes in elementary and high school. On Thursday, several lawmakers again brought up the proposal to move the opening of classes from June to September. A report on GMA News TV's “State of the Nation" on Thursday said DepEd data shows that almost a month's worth of classes are lost because of class suspensions due to typhoons. In a statement, DepEd said it is open to discussions on the proposal of Congress to move the opening of classes to Sept. “We are open to anything that would help ensure the comfort of our school children," said DepEd Communications Unit head Kenneth Tirado. Storms, floods seldom nationwide However, Tinio said that typhoons and floods only affect some parts of the country, so there is no need to adjust the school year and involve all schools and students nationwide. In contrast, the entire country experiences the scorching heat during the summer season, he said. Tinio said several years ago, the DepEd, under then Secretary Jesli Lapus, made a survey among school officials and teachers, and a majority said they were not in favor of moving the school opening to Sept. because of the same reason. “Typhoons and floods usually [only affect] Metro Manila and certain parts of Central Luzon," he said. “In many parts of the country, the situation is not like that. That’s one reason why the proposal has never really gotten past informal discussions." Fix flood control in school areas instead Instead of moving the class opening to Sept., he said the DepEd and other line agencies should instead focus on fixing the infrastructure of schools and roads in urban areas like Metro Manila where flooding usually occurs. “Fix the infrastructure and drainage and fix the flood control," he said. “If that’s fixed, going to school when it's raining should not be a problem." Meanwhile, some groups continue to lobby for the proposal to move the school opening from June to Sept. Classrooms as evacuation centers during floods Eleazardo Kaslag, president of Federation of Association of Private School and Administrator, said in the same report on “State of the Nation" that classes in public schools are interrupted during the rainy season, especially when classrooms are used as evacuation centers. “Hindi naman basta-basta mapapaalis [ang evacuees] the following day. They stay there for a week, on some occasions for half a month," he said. Kaslag added that public school students get left behind by private school students, whose classes go on as usual. Even weather bureau PAGASA said they are amenable to the proposal to move the opening of classes to September, saying that after tropical depression Dodong, eight more typhoons are expected to hit the country between June and August this year. — MRT, GMA News