Solon wants DepEd to fast-track guidelines on old school calendar return
At A Glance
- Ilocos Sur 1st district Rep. Ronald Singson has urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to finalize the guidelines that aim to revert the next school year to the pre-pandemic school calendar.
- The DepEd said this school calendar shift will happen "gradually".
(ALI VICOY / MANILA BULLETIN)
Ilocos Sur 1st district Rep. Ronald Singson has urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to finalize the guidelines that aim to revert the next school year to the pre-pandemic school calendar.
“Given that this is a matter of great importance, we urge the department to fast-track the finalization of the guidelines for the reversion to the old June-March school calendar,” said Singson in a statement on Wednesday, Jan. 31.
During a House Committee on Basic Education and Culture hearing on Monday, DepEd Director Leila Areola confirmed that the department has drafted an amendment to DepEd Order 22, s. 2023.
The directive refers to the official calendar and schedule of activities for school year 2023-2024.
The DepEd said this school calendar shift will happen “gradually”. This means the upcoming school year will not start in June, but the school years after that will eventually see its return.
“We welcome this pronouncement by the DepEd as we have long been clamoring to have the school calendar be reverted to its pre-pandemic schedule,” Singson said.
The lawmaker has previously filed House Bill (HB) No. 8508, which sought to establish the first Monday of June of every year as the start of the academic year.
The bill aims to harmonize the opening of the academic year for all Philippine schools, citing the need to set a school calendar that is most beneficial to learners, given the extreme heat during the dry season.
“While it is difficult to predict the weather due to climate change, the former school calendar is what suits our country best. Should the school calendar be reverted, students, teachers and parents will be spared from the inconvenience and hazards of adverse weather conditions,” the measure read.
The Committee on Basic Education and Culture has since approved the consolidation of various measures, which include HB No. 8508, into a House resolution expressing the sense of the lower chamber to adjust the academic calendar to the old school calendar that starts in June and ends in March.