First COVID, now heat: Online schooling returns to the Philippines
Record heat in the Philippines this month has forced schools to send children home for online classes, reviving memories of COVID lockdowns and raising fears that more extreme weather in the years to come could deepen educational inequalities.
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"Some students told me they prefer going to school because the heat is worse at home," she said, adding that many of her students live in nearby shantytowns and have no internet connection to take part in online classes."
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In public schools in Metro Manila, the capital region, a survey of more than 8,000 teachers last month showed 87% of students had suffered from heat-related conditions.
More than three-quarters of teachers described the heat as "unbearable" in the survey conducted by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers of the Philippines – National Capital Region (ACT-NCR), a teaching association.
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"Climate change has not been comprehensively taught in our classrooms. But it's a pressing issue linked to all the other challenges our education system is facing now," Bernardo said.
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