Inter-agency disaster response strategies are shifting toward data-driven hazard parameters and localized authority to limit widespread educational disruptions during severe weather and environmental emergencies.
The Department of Education (DepEd) and six other government agencies are finalizing technical guidelines that will determine when classes should be automatically suspended and when schools can resume face-to-face learning during disasters and emergencies.
The proposed joint memorandum circular will establish standards for automatic class suspensions and procedures for assessing risks in communities and individual schools.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said decisions during disasters should be based on scientific data and advisories from agencies such as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).
Under the proposed guidelines, classes will be automatically suspended once official advisories reach specified technical thresholds. In-person classes may resume once the advisory is lifted and the required safety assessment has been completed.
Local chief executives will also be directed to identify affected barangays or school zones instead of suspending classes across an entire city or municipality whenever possible.
School heads may likewise suspend classes when hazards are limited to their campuses, including flooding, power outages and security threats, in coordination with local disaster risk reduction and management offices and Schools Division Offices.
The proposal also allows schools confirmed to be safe and structurally sound to reopen after a documented inspection and with the concurrence of the local chief executive, even if a wider class suspension remains in effect.
The guidelines will cover various hazards, including typhoons, heavy rainfall, storm surges, earthquakes, extreme heat, volcanic activity, hazardous air pollution, building damage and disruptions to utility services.
Schools will also be required to provide alternative learning arrangements while campuses are closed, including modular instruction, online learning, take-home activity packets and temporary learning spaces.
The six agencies working with DepEd on the proposed circular are the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Department of Public Works and Highways.