Climate resilient schools sought

THE government must invest in more climate resilient schools to ensure continued learning for students, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.

“Climate-related class disruptions deprive them of opportunities to develop the necessary foundational and socioemotional skills to thrive in the future,” Behzad Noubary, UNICEF Philippines representative said in a statement.

UNICEF said that the government should invest in infrastructure, curriculum, learning materials, teacher training, and alternative delivery modes to support flexible learning strategies when classes are disrupted.

“Education systems can be climate-resilient and can play a critical role in equipping the school community with the knowledge, skills, and values needed for the green transition,” the UN agency noted.

The UN organization also called on the Philippines to make Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) more child sensitive which could provide “safe, equitable, and continuous access to quality education.”

“For children to achieve their full rights to education, the NDCs need to commit to adaptation measures to promote safe, equitable, and continuous access to quality education for all,” Mr. Noubary added.

The NDC is a national climate action plan that aims to modernize and pursue low carbon and resilient development for the agriculture, waste, industry, transport and energy sectors

Children in the Philippines are ranked second highest in the East Asia and the Pacific Region to the most vulnerable to climate risk, according to a UNICEF report.

The World Risk Index also showed that the county has been the most disaster-prone for the past three years. — Adrian H. Halili