By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez backs the proposal forwarded by several groups in the education sector for a return to the previous March to April school break.
The calls are in response to the high temperatures currently being experienced in various schools not just in the city, but in the entire Negros Occidental.
According to Benitez, if the heat is determined as already “hazardous” for students, then he doesn’t see any problem approving proposals by the Department of Education to implement shortened face-to-face classes or switching to blended learning.
However, Benitez said it would be a better idea to return to the previous March to April summer break.
In the meantime, the mayor said they are finding a way to mitigate the effects of high temperatures on students in the city.
“We will try to mitigate their conditions para indi man [sila] mainitan,” Benitez said.
The city government also plans to assign additional school nurses for schools to easily respond to any emergencies and check the health of the students.
Due to the high temperatures, several schools in the city have already adopted new class schedules.
At the Bacolod City National High School, students are now observing half-day classes, wherein classes will begin as early as 6:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. only.
The Negros Occidental High School has also adopted a half-day schedule with classes from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon only, while Grade 12 students will attend classes from 1:00 p.m. to 5:10 p.m./DGB, WDJ