CHED guidelines on class suspension

On rainy days, the first thing that college students think of when they wake up is whether or not they have to go to school. But the question, "May pasok ba?" is a tricky one, because of the confusion about who to ask.

 

But they should be advised that the Commission on Higher Education, which governs both public and private higher education institutions, does not suspend classes. 

 

CHED's policy and protocol is automatic suspension of classes in higher education with Storm Signal Number 3. Otherwise, the decision is left to school heads or local governments, as stated in CHED Memorandum Order 15 series of 2012. Just last month, CHED stressed it was deferring to local officials the decision on whether to suspend or cancel classes at the college level. According to CHED's guidelines, "classes at the collegiate level, including graduate school, may be cancelled or suspended at the discretion of local chief executives of Local Government Units and/or heads of HEIs if special circumstances in their area such as flooding, road damage, etc. warrant it." 

 

"College students who are young adults should be treated differently from elementary and high school students. Higher education institutions are also different from the basic education institutions which are mainly owned and managed by the Department of Education. HEIs have more autonomy and freedom to make decisions," CHED said on its website. CHED explained that the suspension of classes depends on the school's situations. "For instance, floods are usually localized and therefore suspension would be appropriate in some areas and not in others. In fact, some HEIs with multiple campuses suspend classes in affected campuses but not in others," it said.

 

The guidelines also state that "local chief executives and/or HEI heads or their duly authorized representatives shall make the announcement for the cancellation or suspension of classes not later than 4:30 a.m. of the day when cancellation or suspension shall take effect, using all available media outlets."

 

Meanwhile, the announcement should be made before 11:00 a.m. for midday suspensions.

 

"School heads are advised to use proper discretion since there are times it is safer to keep the students in school rather than expose them to greater danger," CHED said.

 

CHED also said that students who are unable to report to class due to inclement weather shall be allowed to make up for the missed class or activity, even without class suspension. — Carmela Lapeña/RSJ, GMA News