In a surefire way to start the last leg of the academic year with a blast, the University was forced to shift to online modalities at the beginning of Term 3 due to sweltering heat waves, leading to Lasallians rapidly fanning their sweats away and cranking their air conditioners on full blast.
From temperature scales erupting to dangerous levels to people falling to unconsciousness from life-threatening heat, PAGASA shocked the nation that the blazing hell we experienced had skyrocketed to as high as 46 degrees Celsius. And for the welfare of everyone’s safety, many schools were forced to shift to online modalities as a preemptive measure.
For some, this decision brought relief. Internet for online sessions was not a problem; well-ventilated rooms with fans, air conditioners, and stocks of cool beverages made the heated season a bit bearable, too. However, other schools had no choice but to resort to the alternate learning method of sending out printed modules, which were already proven ineffective during the pandemic; the method highlighted the risk of sacrificing the role of teachers in guiding students and leaving students to rely on instructional materials and their guardians at home.
Even if the heat would gradually become bearable enough to merit a return to onsite classes, the heat wouldn’t magically go away. Commuting to school in Manila is a perilous journey on its own. Students who travel to school during the morning and early afternoons—the hottest times of day—would arrive at their classrooms struggling with exhaustion and fatigue.
Worse, their classrooms have no proper ventilation and decent insulation. They would have to juggle both physical and mental constraints from the unbearable heat with only suspending onsite sessions to have modular learning as the only alternative.
There are barely any countermeasures available for public schools that would not risk an education gap for students simply because they lack proper funding and access to comfortable facilities. It seems that there is no escape from the perils and consequences of the worsening tropical heat we face. Still, the government has its own side-tracked solutions that it believes would alleviate the heat-related struggles of public schools.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and education coalition groups recently advised the Department of Education to immediately transition by 2025 to the old academic calendar, where classes run from June to March to supposedly avoid the summer season. Yet suspensions caused by heat waves are already a rare circumstance, and even if summer is a season that we are all accustomed to, its gradually increasing severity are warning signs of a consequential and an inevitable calamity.
What remains neglected are the inadequate public schools’ infrastructures and facilities that still need to adjust to the worsening effects of the climate. Simply modifying academic calendars wouldn’t deter the irreversible damage global warming has and will continue to cause, endangering the lives of our students and faculty in the indefinite future. Climate change isn’t seasonal, nor can it be pinned down to know when the most comfortable time is for learning. Perhaps that the government should begin to realize the consequences of their consistent ignorance to environmental issues. Along with the noticeable increasing strength of heatwaves is just the beginning of the alarming progression of climate change, we are at a point where government sectors cannot afford to neglect these catastrophes for the sake of hefty urbanism.
The education system has also been lagging behind in its recovery from the pandemic’s setbacks. This recent series of climate events reveal more hurdles for the quality of life for many, underfunded school facilities glaringly expose the low quality of the infrastructures of our education system too. Climate change will continue to bring abnormal weather, including immensely strong thunderstorms and typhoons. The government needs to start acknowledging the worsening climate, but frankly, it will only be a small step toward creating sustainable solutions. It’s imperative to reiterate a grim reminder that the wrath of climate change will only exacerbate from here, heading toward the peak of an environmental tragedy.
