ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro wants the summer vacation of students returned to April and May to protect them and teachers from the cruel heat.

“Sa sobrang taas ng heat index ngayong panahon ng climate change hindi talaga safe para sa mga teachers at estudyante ang magklase sa mga malapugon nilang mga classroom. Tignan na lang natin yung mga nahimatay na bata sa isang public school sa Laguna na di kinaya ang init sa panahong ito,” Castro said.

She made the call following the survey of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers
that showed the grave hardships that teachers and learners endure during the hot months in classrooms.

The poll held from March 24 to 27 showed that 87 percent of 11,706 public school teachers surveyed nationwide said that students cannot focus on their lessons because of the intolerable heat in classrooms.

“Halatang hindi inaral mabuti batay sa kondisyon ng Pilipinas as a climate vulnerable country ang paglipat ng school calendar. Para lang makasabay sa globalized trend, academic calendar shift agad agad. Poor planning talaga at ang kawawa na naman ay ang mga estudyante at mga guro,” Castro said.

She said that only one percent of classrooms in public schools had air conditioners and two percent rely on natural ventilation. The rest use electric fans.

“Dapat na kagyat na tugunan ito ng DepEd kundi ay lalong lalala ang learning gap ng mga estudyante at ang masama pa ay baka magkasakit ang mga guro at mag-aaral,” Castro said.