Tuguegarao City starts blended learning in schools due to hot weather

Tuguegarao City Mayor Maila Ting-Que orders a blended learning modality from kindergarten to senior high school from April 4 to May 6, 2024, due to the searing heat. INQUIRER FILES

TUGUEGARAO CITY — Mayor Maila Ting-Que has ordered a blended learning modality from kindergarten to senior high school from April 4 to May 6 due to scorching heat.

Half-day classes from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. have already been imposed while the blended learning modality will be done in the afternoon in public schools, Que said in an interview Friday, April 5.

She, however, clarified that the implementation of the blended learning modality for private schools will still be upon the discretion of the school’s administration.

Meanwhile, Cagayan Schools Division Superintendent Reynante Caliguiran said class suspensions in Tuguegarao City and other areas in Cagayan have been aligned with the Department of Education (DepEd) Order No. 37, which allows face-to-face class suspensions during calamities. An alternative learning delivery mode has also been set as replacement.

READ: Romblon town mayor orders morning-only on-site classes amid heat

Caliguiran said in his memorandum to schools in the province that the safety and protection of students and teachers should be ensured due to the extreme heat caused by the prevailing El Niño phenomenon.

The blended learning modality has also been adopted by Tuao and Iguig in separate memoranda issued by their respective town mayors on Friday. The orders, which suspend in-person classes, shall be imposed “until sooner revoked,” the mayors said.

READ: In-person class suspensions, changes from April 2 due to hot weather

Tuao town included college students in public schools in the blended learning classes while private schools have the discretion to adopt the order.

Education officials likewise advised students to drink water regularly for hydration, wear light-colored clothes and avoid outdoor activities during the height of the heat.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) listed Tuguegarao City as second in the top 10 places with the highest temperature recorded in the country.