Keep political hands out of school matters

A DILG directive has been issued giving barangay captains the authority to order the suspension of classes whenever, in their estimation, weather conditions in their respective areas make it necessary to do so.

The order is to take effect next month but will only be implemented in Metro Manila. In all likelihood, however, the directive will later be implemented nationwide. This early, though, the order has met with strong criticism and opposition.

Among the potential flaws of the order is the difficulty in disseminating information about any class suspension. How will announcements be made and by what means? How early should the announcements be given?

Then there is the very real problem of a school being located in one barangay yet having a large part of its student population being residents of other barangays. There, too, is the problem of weather conditions not being the same in every barangay.

Are barangay captains ready to assume full responsibility for the consequences of any order suspending classes that they may give, knowing how fickle the weather can be? What if a weather condition necessitates suspension of classes over a number of days?

DILG secretary Jessie Robredo says barangay captains will still need to coordinate with their mayors, that mayors will ultimately bear the brunt of the responsibility. If so, why make a middle man of a barangay captain? Why not throw the hot potato directly onto a mayor’s lap?

But then again, it still does not make sense to take that responsibility away from school or education authorities who know what is best regarding education matters and assign the same to political officials who, at the back of their minds, need to consider their political interests.

What if these political officials, whether barangay captains or mayors, think only of their political careers and decide to play it safe? Would that not mean a predisposition to just cancel classes at every threat of weather just to play safe?

What happens to classes, in weather both fair and foul, should remain the responsibility of school and education officials. Flaws in the system governing weather-related cancellation of classes are still best solved within the education department, not outside it.