Old school calendar returning next year

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) will commit to President Marcos’ decision to revert to the old school calendar by next year, according to an agency official.

“In our letter to the (Office of the President) regarding the DepEd’s proposal for reversion to the June-to-March school year (SY), we had already stated that we commit to abide by the President’s decision on the matter,” DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas told reporters yesterday.

To avoid the cancellation of classes due to extreme heat, the President wants the country to revert to the old school calendar of June to March as soon as possible.

Bringas was referring to the proposal they sent to Marcos last month to end SY 2024-2025 in March 2025 and start the succeeding school year by June of the same year.

The DepEd could not yet disclose specifics of the aggressive transition as Marcos still needs time to study the options that they had presented to him.

Under the new approach plotted by DepEd’s Bureau of Learning Delivery, schools would have only 165 days of in-person classes – falling short of the 180 to 220 days prescribed by law.

To ensure that students do not continue lagging in learning competencies, the DepEd may have to opt for alternative delivery mode classes on weekends.

Aside from this, the agency earlier said that students might need to have a shorter end-of-school break as the school year would end by March 31, 2025 and start in June of the same year.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) welcomed Marcos’ pronouncement about the shift and challenged him to take decisive action in resolving shortages in the education sector and confront the climate crisis as part of more substantive “measures beyond a mere calendar adjustment.”

“Addressing the dire learning environment should not end in an administrative act of changing the school calendar, but should continue with more substantive steps of hiring more teachers and building more classrooms to reduce the class size and ensuring proper ventilation in all learning spaces,” ACT chairman Vladimer Quetua said.

“More strategically, the government must comprehensively address the worsening climate crisis, largely brought about by corporate destruction of the environment, that adversely affects not only the education sector but the whole socio-economic life of our people,” Quetua added.

Various groups have been calling for the immediate return to the old school calendar, citing the extreme heat experienced by students during March and April.

Even lawmakers have sought to intervene by filing proposals to shift to the old calendar, stressing that the current school calendar that runs from August to June is inappropriate in the country.

The DepEd previously issued Department Order No. 3, series 2024 last Feb. 19, adjusting the end of the current school year from June 15 to May 31, 2024. The same order also set the opening and closing dates for SY 2024-2025 as July 29, 2024 and May 16, 2025, respectively.

If Marcos approves the DepEd’s aggressive transition, the agency may have to abandon the phased transition, which could only take full hold three school years from now.

Based on the DepEd’s projected timeline, schools will open in June and end in April by SY 2026-2027.

It said that classes would open in June and end in March by SY 2027-2028.

Thousands of schools have suspended onsite classes so far this month and throughout last month.

Yesterday, 7,372 out of a total of 47,678 public schools nationwide shifted to alternative delivery mode (ADM) due to extreme heat.

Data from the agency showed that Western Visayas had the most number of schools under ADM with 1,740; followed by Bicol with 1,193; Central Luzon with 978; Zamboanga peninsula with 676; Central Visayas with 482 and Mimaropa with 467.

Meanwhile, 257 schools were under ADM in Metro Manila, 366 in Soccsksargen, 341 in Cagayan Valley, 287 in Ilocos region and 262 in the Cordillera Administrative Region.

A total of 323 schools were under ADM in Calabarzon, Northern Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, Davao region and Caraga.

Concrete plan

The President said he had already asked Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte to provide him a concrete plan on the transition.

“I requested that (plan) from the DepEd and asked Inday Sara to give me already a concrete plan because it looks like we don’t have to wait any longer. And it looks like it’s necessary and I don’t see any objection really from anyone,” Marcos said in Filipino during a media interview yesterday in Pasay City.

He cited the frequent cancellation of face-to-face (F2F) classes in various parts of the country due to intense heat, aggravated by the El Niño phenomenon.

“Especially, with the El Niño being what it is. Every day you turn on the news, F2F classes are cancelled, F2F classes have been postponed, et cetera. So we really need to go back (to the old school calendar),” he said.

“So, yes, that’s part of the plan that we are trying to do to bring back already the old schedule,” he added.

Asked if it would be implemented next year, the President replied: “Hopefully, hopefully, by next year, yes.”

Several individuals have been calling on the government to revert to the old school calendar, citing the struggle of students and teachers to hold classes during the dry season.

The school opening in the country was moved to October in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ADM was implemented. It was moved to August in the succeeding years.

Smooth transition

The DepEd and other stakeholders must ensure the smoothest transition possible in reverting to the old school calendar as Marcos called for an expedited move for such by next year, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said yesterday, as the senator also thanked the President.

“These past few weeks, we have seen how the extreme heat had led to several suspensions of face-to-face classes in many parts of the country, which disrupted the continuity of education for our learners,” Gatchalian said.

He added that the public also has to keep in mind the threats that the extreme heat poses to the health, safety and well-being of learners and teachers.

By moving back the opening of classes to June, normalcy to the school calendar cycle which the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in 2020 can be restored, according to the senator.

“Moving forward, I will continue working with the Department of Education and other stakeholders to ensure the smoothest possible transition back to the old school calendar,” Gatchalian said. — Helen Flores, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Sheila Crisostomo