Wearing of uniforms will not be a “strict requirement” in the upcoming school year 2022-2023, said Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte on Monday, July 18. 

Citing reasons such as additional costs to families amid the continuous rise of the prices of basic commodities in the country, Duterte said that students will not be required to wear uniforms in SY 2022-2023. 

“Even before the pandemic, it is not a strict requirement for public schools to wear uniforms (DepEd Order No. 065, s. 2010) to avoid incurring additional costs to the families of our learners. All the more that it will not be required this school year given the increasing prices and economic losses due to the pandemic,” said Duterte in a statement sent to the media. 

In the previous academic years, when the country implemented remote learning due to the risks brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, DepEd did not also require learners to wear school uniforms. Instead, the department mandated students to wear “comfortable” and “appropriate” clothes while learning at the safe spaces of their homes. 

On the other hand, while the use of uniforms will not be required in the forthcoming academic year, DepEd, in an official order released to the public on Tuesday, July 12, said that the use of facemasks will be mandatory in the re-opening of classes. Face shields may likewise be used instead of face masks for activities requiring the entire face of an individual to be visible. 

Classes for SY 2022-2023 will officially begin on Aug. 22, 2022 and end on July 7, 2023. DepEd, after over two years of implementing distance learning, will now push for the implementation of full in-person classes beginning Nov. 2, 2022.