Four-day school week-long adopted in Cebu City

It was reported that the Commission on Higher Education is in favor of a 4-day class schedule for colleges and universities in Manila, following a request from MMDA. This may be big news for tertiary schools in the capital city, but in Cebu City this type of class schedule has long been observed. Thus the news hardly created a ripple among Cebuano students and school personnel.

One of the first schools in this city which adopted this innovation (and this was way back in 2007) was the University of the Visayas. Aware that most of its students come from middle and lower middle class families, the Executive Vice President of UV, Dr. Jose R. Gullas, decided to implement the new schedule with the concurrence of University president former congressman Eduardo R. Gullas. Unlike in Manila, the move was made not because of traffic problems but for some other reasons, both internal and external to school operations.

Internally, the rationale for the innovation was the realization that the one-hour meeting for each subject under the old system was insufficient for an in-depth presentation and discussion to make learning meaningful. Although under the traditional schedule every 3-unit subject was met 3 times a week (MWF or TTHS) many instructors felt that the chopping of subject areas in such manner lent to psychological discontinuity on the part of the learner to correct which there was a need for a "recall session" before the day's lesson could be started. This resulted in loss of precious time in every class session.

Holding classes for only 4 days every week with 1 ½ hours per meeting also provides for activity days on Fridays or Saturdays thereby avoiding suspension of classes on such days under the old schedule. To avoid such suspension, some schools limited the holding of extra scholastic activities such as sports, community outreach work, remedial instruction, and others during class days. Others programmed these on Sundays, the only non-class day under the traditional arrangement. This resulted in abbreviated extra-school activities which were unsound pedagogically because non-academic undertakings are as important as academic ones. Besides, Sundays in a Catholic country like the Philippines is supposed to be the Lord's Day which ought to be free of regular engagements.

There are other reasons, external to school operation, why the four-day schedule is better than the six-day one as far as the students (and their parents) are concerned. For one thing, going to school for a limited number of days per week enables the students, especially those from low-income families, to engage in gainful employment, thereby helping augment family income. For another, this minimizes commuting expense in going to and from school. If for instance, a student spends P15 a day or P90 a week, he saves P30 per week or P120 per month. Extra income and extra savings translate to a substantial amount which can be used for other more basic family needs.

Traffic-wise, the benefit is obvious. Limiting the students' movement limits also the number of PUJs or private vehicles that ply the streets. In fact, this could be one reason why traffic in Cebu City is less of a headache than that in Manila. Despite the rapid pace of industrialization, despite the fast increase in population, both of which have sent more and more vehicles into the streets, motor vehicle movements in this city have been rather tolerable.

Considering the benefits derived from this new way of conducting classes in college, other tertiary schools which have not adopted it yet ought to follow suit. There may be some negative reasons why they haven't done so, one of which may have to do with availability of classrooms and other facilities. But given minimal adjustments and funding, this innovation can be built into their operation to improve the teaching-learning process and to help their students and their parents economically.

For having adopted this scheme years ago Cebu educators have shown that when it comes to school innovations they are not behind their Manila counterparts.