Following the decision of the Department of Education (DepEd) to revert to the old school calendar, an advocacy group urged the agency to “ensure continuity and conduciveness of learning environment.”
“Our students need a fixed schedule,” the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) said in a statement.
“We hope that this recent decision will be firm and consistent among administrations so as to minimize learning disruption,” it added.
Last month, DepEd formally announced changes in the current school calendar.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2024/2/20/school-year-2023-2024-to-end-in-may-dep-ed
It also announced the start of the incoming school year in July.
DepEd said that the adjustment in the school calendar for the incoming SY “recognizes the clamor to gradually revert” the school calendar to the pre-pandemic opening of classes.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2024/2/20/school-year-2023-2024-to-end-in-may-dep-ed
Stopgap measure
Moreover, PBEd noted that the decision to revert to the old academic calendar should not be seen as a “stopgap measure” to address the underlying issues that make the existing school calendar unbearable.
“To safeguard our children, we need to make sure that classrooms can withstand extreme weather conditions and have transportation support available,” PBEd said.
“We should also ensure the additional number of school days needed to offset the days lost due to national holidays and class suspensions,” it added.
Meanwhile, PBEd also urged DepEd to ensure that alternatives to face-to-face classes should also be “explored” in the event of class suspensions.
“Now is the time for DepEd to institutionalize good practices from remote learning experience, whether through assigned modules, or online or broadcast classes,” PBEd said.
Regarding this, PBEd called for “greater involvement” among local governments as many of the concerns can be addressed at the local level --- especially in ensuring that physical and digital infrastructures are in place so that learning continues.
Gradual shift
In a statement issued on Feb. 20, DepEd confirmed that it will “gradually shift back” to the April to May break amid the adjustments in the SY 2023-2024 activities.
DepEd highlighted that the “gradual shift is vital to avoid disruption of school days necessary to cover all learning competencies.”
The adjusted calendar for this SY was announced in DepEd Order No. 03, series of 2024.
Among the major adjustments include moving the End of SY 2023-2024 to May 31 while the EOSY Break will be from June 1 to July 26, 2024.
Adjustments in the third and fourth quarter examinations were also announced as well as the conduct of EOSY Rites from May 29 to 31, 2024.
The schedule of DepEd national activities such as the Palarong Pambansa, National Festival of Talents, National Schools Press Conference, and Learners’ Convergence were also adjusted.
DepEd said the official start of the School Year 2024-2025 will be on July 29 and will end on May 16, 2025.
The Brigada Eskwela, on the other hand, was set to commence a week before the start of the new school year.
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