Maintaining Educational Continuity in Mountainous Benguet During Extreme Weather

• Educators, students, and community members in Pugo, Baculongan Norte, are employing collaborative strategies to ensure learning continuity despite severe weather caused by the southwest monsoon (Habagat).
• Key challenges include landslides, road closures, power outages, and school facility damage, which frequently halt face-to-face instruction.
• Sustainable education requires a shift from reliance on technology to flexible, low-tech alternatives and integrated disaster preparedness.

Impact on Education

• Mountainous terrain and heavy, prolonged rainfall create significant barriers to student and teacher safety.
• Extreme weather leads to blocked pathways and thick fog, preventing physical school attendance.
• Facility degradation, such as leaking roofs, flooding, and moisture damage to learning materials, severely hinders the learning environment.
• Recurring infrastructure issues, including power and communication outages, limit the effectiveness of digital learning tools.

Adaptive Strategies

• Teachers use modular learning and self-paced activities to reach students when travel is impossible.
• Educators conduct home visits to maintain personal connections and provide psychosocial support for student well-being.
• Students demonstrate resilience by continuing academic work at home, often under challenging lighting and environmental conditions.
• The "bayanihan" spirit drives community efforts to clear roads, repair school infrastructure, and support the return to regular operations.

Towards Systemic Resilience

• While local adaptation is effective, long-term stability requires government intervention in infrastructure, including better drainage, road reinforcement, and protection for ICT equipment.
• Schools should integrate climate-responsive planning, such as preparing emergency learning kits and pre-emptive module distribution, to minimize future disruption.
• Educational policy must prioritize the reality of environmentally vulnerable communities by ensuring plans account for actual local geographical and technological constraints.