QC schools shorten class hours due to extreme heat

FANS OF ALL SIZES Grade 1 pupils at Pinyahan Elementary School in Quezon City finish their seatwork on Monday without worrying too much about the summer heat as their classroom is cooled down by several electric fans in the absence of expensive air-conditioning units. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

The Schools Division Office of Quezon City has implemented shortened class hours and blended teaching modalities among public schools in Quezon City due to the high temperatures. The Quezon City Government said in a statement on Friday that the implementation was in compliance with the Department of Education order endorsing modular distance learning in the event of natural disasters, power outages or interruptions and other calamities. School heads were also required to report their delivery mode weekly depending on the weather reports by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. In the first week of May, two out of 95 public elementary schools have implemented print modular, while 13 held blended and 10 shortened class periods. Meanwhile, two out of 63 public secondary schools have implemented print modular, 26 blended and eight shortened class periods. Class periods span from 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. for the morning batch and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for the afternoon batch. —Abby Boiser