THE RECENT SUSPENSIONS OF classes owing to inclement weather in the National Capital Region for nearly three weeks– with some announced at the last minute – led to at least 15 school days losses for the students,
Although most shifted to home-based learning methods, those in many public schools who did not have laptops and gadgets to conduct online learning, such class suspensions led to outright learning losses.
In view of unavoidable weather patterns and natural calamities, EDCOM 2 (or the second Congressional Commission on Education) is pushing for localized and science-based decisions on class suspensions, saying repeated disruptions continue to take away valuable learning time from students.
EDCOM 2 has asked the Office of the President to amend Executive Order 66, s. 2012, which currently governs the suspension and resumption of classes during typhoons, floods and other calamities.
It noted that based on the latest analysis of DepEd data, schools lost an average of 15 days each school year due to calamity-related class suspensions in SY 2024-2025 and SY 2025-2026.
According to EDCOM 2, Negros Occidental was the hardest-hit single division, losing 71 school days due to the months-long Kanlaon Volcano eruption, followed by Canlaon City at 61 days.
In Metro Manila, EDCOM 2 said 16 divisions lost 15 days on average, driven almost entirely by monsoon and typhoons.
“Every day of disruption has a learning cost. When class suspensions accumulate, the lost learning cannot simply be made up through additional hours or Saturday classes. We need a system that more accurately responds to the conditions on the ground, while keeping the safety of students as our primary consideration,” EDCOM 2 executive director Karol Mark Yee said.
Opposing the one-size-fits-all suspensions, EDCOM 2 said the same hazard does not affect every school or community in the same way.
EDCOM2 said the amendment should establish a system for class suspensions:
- Automatic suspensions– when nationally prescribed hazard thresholds are reached
- Localized suspensions by local chief executives based on local risk assessments
- Scientific evidence and consultations with schools
- school-level suspensions based on conditions at the specific school, the Star reported.
According to EDCOM 2, the framework will also allow classes to resume at the school level once conditions are assessed to be safe.
Similarly, EDCOM 2 said the Department of Education (DepEd) should also ensure learning continuity measures, as based on its report only 37 percent of teachers have laptops and just 17 percent of students have the gadgets needed for online learning, making a default shift to online classes unrealistic for many schools.
“Schools need to be prepared to use different ways of continuing instruction during disruptions, including printed learning materials, modules, home-based learning and other appropriate delivery modes depending on their circumstances,” Yee said.
The commission also pushed for schools to have an annual learning continuity plan in place before the school year begins, identifying in advance how teaching will continue when disasters, extreme weather or other emergencies force classes to stop.
“The recent policy of DepEd to move to a three-term calendar is meant to help buffer learning loss due to suspensions. The department has also reported that learning packets have been pre-distributed to students to provide them ready materials in case of suspensions. We will continue to study these interventions to assess their effectiveness, as we continue to find solutions in preventing learning loss as we continue to confront our literacy crisis,” Yee added.
The proposed granular or localized class suspension means canceling classes at a specific, localized level—such as an individual school, specific grade levels, or a single affected building—rather than enforcing a broad, city-wide or blanket shutdown.
Decisions for school level suspensions are based on the actual safety and weather conditions of a single campus or barangay, leaving nearby unaffected schools open.
Only classrooms, grade levels or buildings facing threats like flooding, extreme heat or damage are suspended.
School heads and principals, working with local disaster teams and division superintendents, have the power to make site-specific calls. The goal is to stop unnecessary wholesale cancellation so students do not lose school days when their specific campus is safe and ready.