Prolonged flooding has disrupted face-to-face classes across parts of Region 1, prompting the Department of Education (DepEd) to consider ways to make up for lost learning time once schools become safe to reopen.
The agency is looking at Saturday classes and extended class hours after weather conditions improve, floodwaters recede, and roads become passable following weeks of heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon, or "habagat."
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Flood-Hit Schools Face Prolonged Learning Disruptions
The proposed catch-up measures are being considered particularly for heavily affected areas of Pangasinan, including schools under Pangasinan Division I and the city schools divisions of Dagupan and San Carlos, according to DepEd Region 1 Director Estella Leon-Cariño.
Several schools have been unable to resume regular classroom instruction because their facilities were flooded or damaged, while others were temporarily converted into evacuation centers for displaced families. Alternative learning delivery arrangements have helped keep learners connected to their lessons during the suspensions, but DepEd noted that some competencies still require in-person instruction.
“There are lessons that require face-to-face classes to ensure that students have actually learned the required competencies,” Leon-Cariño explained.
With this limitation in mind, DepEd Region 1 is assessing additional class hours and Saturday sessions as possible ways to address the learning time lost during the disruptions. These measures, however, would only proceed after affected schools are determined to be safe and accessible.
Parents are also being encouraged to help sustain learners' connection with their teachers while face-to-face classes remain suspended. Leon-Cariño urged families to coordinate through available channels, including online communication and other alternative methods of delivering lessons, while also making sure students receive and keep the learning materials distributed during the suspension.
Flooding Raises Broader Concerns Over School Safety
The situation in Dagupan City underscores that recovering missed school days is not simply a matter of adding classroom hours. Repeated flooding has also raised questions about whether some school campuses can reliably remain accessible during severe weather.
During one of Mayor Belen Fernandez's live Facebook broadcasts, concerns were raised over the vulnerability of school facilities to severe flooding. Barangay Chairman Filipina Pheng Delos Santos of Malued separately called for action from concerned city authorities, including the City Engineering Office and the Office of the Mayor, regarding recurring flooding affecting a school in the barangay.
The school reportedly continues to experience severe flooding despite the construction of a three-story classroom building. Delos Santos said floodwaters in recent weeks reached chest-deep levels and, at one point, rose to shoulder-deep levels, making classes dangerous and practically impossible to conduct.
Flooding has also complicated the use of schools as evacuation centers. When water surrounds a campus, the facility intended to provide shelter can itself become isolated, with residents describing the affected school as an “island” surrounded by water.
Before catch-up classes can begin, DepEd Region 1 must therefore consider more than the number of school days lost. The condition of classrooms, accessibility of roads, flooding around campuses, and the safety of learners and teachers all remain central to any reopening decision.
For thousands of students in affected communities, the disruption means lost classroom time on top of the risks already created by recurring floods. In Region 1, restoring education will require not only recovering missed lessons but also addressing the conditions that repeatedly prevent schools from functioning in the first place.
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