Weatherproofing education

Bad weather has been making Filipino children dumber than ever. Every time classes are suspended because of heavy rainfall, typhoons, or extreme heat—students accumulate significant learning losses.

- BOO CHANCO

In areas with frequent suspensions, students may lose up to a month of actual instruction, and that dramatically affects learning outcomes, particularly in key subjects like math and science.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara estimates that Filipino students lose about 53 school days per school year on average because of class suspensions caused by typhoons and other disasters. That's nearly one-third of the school year.

It is not only typhoons. Schools across the country lost 32 teaching days due to the high heat index from April to May, on top of other calamities, according to a study by PIDS, the state think tank.

Students in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) lose 35 out of 80 school days due to weather disruptions. In Cagayan Valley, Ilocos Region, and Calabarzon, lost days range from 29 to 33 days.

These disruptions are linked to significant academic setbacks. EDCOM 2's data indicates that Grade 4 student achievement in math and science registers a decline of about 0.12 to 0.14 standard deviations, which equates to roughly half a year's worth of learning.

Economist Joey Salceda warned that heavy rainfall and frequent class suspensions may be costing Filipino children nearly 14 percent of their learning outcomes by the time they finish elementary school.

"Rainy days are stealing learning days. Our calculations show that while the direct loss is about seven percent of class time each year, the real impact on learning outcomes compounds. By the end of elementary school, children may be as much as 14 percent behind where they should be," Salceda said.