(Rio Deluvio/MANILA BULLETIN)

Members of the so-called “Young Guns” bloc in the House of Representatives welcomed President Marcos' approval of the gradual return to the old academic calendar of June-to-March in response to weather concerns.

In a press release, Marcos announced that the upcoming school year was set to start on July 29, 2024 and will conclude on April 15, 2025.

Both Zambales 1st district Rep. Jefferson “Jay” Khonghun and La Union 1st district Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega hailed the move as an appropriate response to the recent cases of class cancellations due to extreme heat.

“Nakita naman po natin, ilang beses nagsuspinde ang mga pampublikong at pribadong paaralan ng face-to-face classes nila dahil na rin sa sobrang init," Khonghun said.

(We have seen how many times public and private schools have suspended their face-to-face classes because of the extreme heat.)

"Kawawa po ang ating mga estudyante at kawawa din po ang ating mga teachers at school personnel if we will subject them again to school during the summer,” he added.

(Our students and teachers, alongside our school personnel, would be pitiful if we subject them again to school during the summer.)

Khonghun noted that this year’s summer should be ample proof that the high heat index will continue to be an issue in future summer months.

On April 4, a total of 4,000 schools suspended face-to-face classes and switched to asynchronous and distance learning modes due to the sweltering heat. 

A week later, the total number of schools that suspended face-to-face classes rose to 7,000. 

Ortega, a House assistant majority leader, said over a million students were affected by these two instances.

Even with the current school year (SY) 2023-2024—which ends on May 31—there are still many cases of in-person classes being suspended.

“For me, hindi na rin conducive sa learning ang pagkakaroon ng klase sa ganitong klaseng init (For me, having a class in this kind of heat is not conducive to learning). So we really support the President’s move to act now and revert to the old calendar,” said Ortega said. 

With this gradual return to the old school schedule, the original June-to-March cycle shall be in effect by the start of the academic year 2025 to 2026.