Public schools start classes on June 2

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) said yesterday the start of classes for school year 2014-2015 in public elementary and secondary schools will be on June 2.

The academic year 2014-2015 will have 201 school days, 180 of which are non-negotiable teacher-student contact time based on DepEd order no. 18, series of 2014.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said private schools may deviate from this school calendar. However, they may not start classes earlier than the first Monday of June and not later than the last day of August.

He said schools may observe national and local celebrations and holidays other than those listed by DepEd provided that the total number of school days are maintained and make-up classes are conducted.

DepEd also sets the Brigada Eskwela from May 19 to 24. Brigada Eskwela allows communities and private organizations to cleanup the classrooms in preparation for the opening of classes.

The school year 2014-2015 shall end on March 27, 2015, the DepEd order said.

Summer classes, on the other hand, will begin on April 13, 2015 and end on May 23, 2015.

DepEd maintains the June-March academic calendar for school year 2014-2015 despite the shift in school opening of some universities.

The change in academic calendar is supposed to be in preparation for the integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015.

Luistro earlier said there is no compelling reason to change the academic calendar for elementary and high schools.

He said unlike in tertiary education, there is no common school opening among member-countries of the ASEAN.

Schools in Brunei Darussalam open in January, Cambodia in October, Indonesia in July, Laos in September, Vietnam in August, Thailand in May and Myanmar and the Philippines in June.