SHORTENED TIME. Dr. Marje Cabasan, DepEd District Supervisor of San Jose de Buenavista, Antique, supervises the first day of the implementation of the shortened class hours at the Delegate Angel Salazar Memorial School on Thursday (April 4, 2024). Cabasan said in an interview that they have adopted the scheme and an alternative delivery mode in the afternoon to ensure continuity of learning and the well-being of students amid the extreme heat. (PNA photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – Local and education leaders here did not suspend face-to-face (F2F) classes amid high temperatures but shortened class hours in the morning and carried out alternative delivery mode (ADM) in the afternoon to ensure continuity of learning.
Dr. Marje Cabasan, Department of Education (DepEd) District Supervisor of San Jose de Buenavista, said in an interview Thursday that during their meeting with Mayor Elmer Untaran and school officials on Wednesday, they decided to implement these measures to protect children from diseases that may be caused by the extreme heat.
“There are 15,000 learners from the elementary and secondary public schools that have shortened face-to-face classes effective Thursday morning,” she said.
She said that San Jose de Buenavista has 24 public schools, of which 22 are elementary and two are secondary schools.
Cabasan added there are two private elementary schools that adopted shortened time and ADM in the afternoon, which is also provided under DepEd Order 37, series of 2022 for the well-being of learners amid the extreme weather.
“The schools because of the shortened face-to-face classes are only having classes from 7 to 10 with others until 11 o’clock in the morning with each subject only allotted at least 30 minutes,” she said.
Before the morning class dismissal, teachers will give the modules to their learners so they can work on them in the afternoon and submit the following morning.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) as well as the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office have advised the townsfolk to avoid direct sun exposure from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. due to the extreme heat.
Meanwhile, the Schools Division Office of Antique said 13 towns in the province have suspended face-to-face classes and shifted to ADM since Tuesday. (PNA)
