Students’ nose bleeding prompts Quezon LGU to suspend on-site classes

INQUIRER files

LUCENA CITY – The mayor of Tayabas City in Quezon province suspended in-person classes in public and private schools on Thursday and Friday (April 25 and 26) to protect students and teachers from dangerous heat level indices.

“There have been reports of students who experienced nose bleeding due to the abnormal temperature in classrooms,” Mayor Maria Lourdes Reynoso-Pontioso said in a memorandum circular issued on Wednesday, April 24.

Reynoso-Pontioso said the suspension of face-to-face classes “is a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident that may risk the well-being of both the students and teachers.”

She noted the heat index in the city was recorded at 43 ºÇ Wednesday and is forecast to hit 42 and 43 ºÇ on Thursday and Friday.

She ordered local school authorities to adopt other measures to avoid affecting the school calendar.

In Lucena City, the Quezon National High School (QNHS), the biggest public secondary school in the province, extended its modular distance learning on Thursday and Friday to minimize the exposure of the students and teachers to the hot temperature amid the extreme heat.

On April 22, Joseph Hinanay, QNHS principal, ordered the transition of the school to modular distance learning until April 23.

He said the decision aims to prioritize the safety and well-being of both students and teachers and prevent possible health risks associated with the extreme temperatures.

The order stated that students, teaching personnel and guidance counselors are “excused from reporting to school.”

“However, teachers are required to monitor/oversee their classes and conduct online/ virtual classes from home,” it said.

Though there is a shift to distance learning, some of the activities will not be suspended like senior high school immersion, faculty meetings and other scheduled events, the school principal said.

Non-teaching personnel belonging to the different offices are also required to report to the school to ensure the continuity of services, Hinanay said.

Earlier this month, the QNHS officials ordered the transition to limited face-to-face classes until such time that the temperature becomes tolerable again.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said temperatures ranging from 42 to 51 ºÇ fall under the “danger” category of heat indices.

The high indices may cause heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and even heat stroke during continued exposure.