A party-list solon has urged the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to require colleges and universities to adopt concrete heat mitigation measures, warning that the government should not wait for students to collapse or be hospitalized before taking action.
Co made the call as dangerous heat index levels continue to affect several parts of the country, with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration recording heat index readings that make temperatures feel as high as 48 degrees Celsius in some areas.
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co
She said the extreme heat has become a direct threat to student welfare, especially in campuses with poor ventilation, inadequate facilities and limited access to cooling systems.
“For students who attend classes in poorly ventilated or structurally inadequate school buildings, this is not merely discomfort,” Co said.
“Students cannot be expected to learn effectively when they are dizzy, dehydrated, and struggling to breathe in humid classrooms,” she added.
Co urged CHED to direct higher education institutions to implement flexible class schedules that avoid peak heat hours, set up cooling stations and hydration areas, and reschedule outdoor activities and physical education classes during periods of extreme heat.
She said students from poor and working-class families are especially vulnerable because many have no access to cooling facilities outside their schools.
Co also cautioned against using a full shift to online classes as the default response, saying this would only revive the learning inequalities exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A 100 percent online shift is not a solution; it is an evasion of responsibility,” Co said. “We learned this the hard way during the pandemic years: online learning deepens existing inequalities.”
“Ang palaging sagot na ‘online na lang’ ay nagbubulag-bulagan sa katotohanan ng kahirapan ng ating mga kabataan. We cannot keep recycling a failed response and call it progressive,” she added.
Co said CHED and school administrators have a responsibility to protect students’ health and safety, not just preserve academic schedules.
“Huwag nating hintayin na may maospital o mahimatay bago kumilos. Responsibilidad ng CHED at ng mga school administrators na pangalagaan ang buhay at kalusugan ng bawat estudyante — hindi lang ang kanilang transcript of records,” she said.
Beyond immediate campus measures, Co said the recurring intensity of extreme heat reflects the worsening climate crisis, which she linked to unchecked pollution and destructive industries.
She also called on the government to invest in long-term infrastructure upgrades for public higher education institutions, particularly state universities and colleges that have long suffered from inadequate funding.
Co said campuses must be equipped with proper ventilation, cooling systems and climate-resilient facilities to ensure that students can continue learning safely as extreme weather conditions become more frequent.