Following the adjustments made to the school calendar for the upcoming school year, as approved by President Marcos, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday, May 23, assured that the vacation period and number of school days will not be compromised.
“With this new schedule, hindi naman masyado mako-compromise ang [schedule], medyo nalalapit naman tayo dun sa mga sinasabi ng curriculum specialists na 180 days would be ideal for a school year (the [schedule] won't be compromised and we are somewhat near what the curriculum specialists say that 180 days would be ideal for a school year),” DepEd Undersecretary and Spokesperson Michael Poa said in a DZBB interview.
Poa referred to the approved calendar schedule of Marcos for School Year (SY) 2024-2025 to start on July 29, 2024, and end on April 15, 2025.
“Maganda naman yung kinalabasan (The outcome is good),” Poa said, noting that the adjustments for the upcoming school year will pave the way for the return of the traditional June to March cycle in SY 2025-2026.
Poa said that, according to DepEd, July 29, 2024, is the “original schedule” for opening classes for SY 2024-2025. Initially, SY 2024-2025 was scheduled to end on May 16, 2025.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2024/2/20/dep-ed-sets-opening-for-school-year-2024-2025-on-july-29
“Pero ang ginawa natin, base na din sa direktiba ng ating Pangulo, magtatapos tayo ng April 15, 2025 (But what we did, based on the directive of our President, is that we will end on April 15, 2025),” Poa explained.
“After ng April 15, magbabakasyon tayo and ang pasukan naman for SY 2025-2026 ay magiging, tentatively, June 16 at magtatapos sa March 31 (After April 15, we will have a vacation and the opening of classes for SY 2025-2026 will tentatively be on June 16 and will end on March 31),” he added.
Options for adjustment
Poa explained that DepEd presented two options to accommodate the March 31 ending of the school year.
The first option was to hold Saturday classes to ensure that the number of school days within the school year would not be compromised. The second option was to have a “shortened” school year.
“Ang ating Pangulo, ayaw niyang ma-compromise ang number of school days significantly and ayaw niya ring magkaroon ng Saturday classes. (Our President does not want the number of school days to be significantly compromised, and he also does not want Saturday classes),” Poa said.
“Ang direktiba, pahabain na lang ng kaunti tutal hanggang April 15 lang naman so hindi naman ganun kahaba yung ie-extend natin from the March closing (The directive is to extend the school days a little since it will only be until April 15, so the extension from the March closing won't be that long),” he added.
Vacation for teachers, learners
Poa noted that a “good development” with the new schedule is that there will be no shortened vacation.
“Magtatapos tayo this year, May 31, then July ang pasukan, naka-2 months pa rin ang bakasyon. (We will end this year on May 31, then classes will start in July, so there will still be a two-month vacation),” he added.
Poa noted that when DepEd programmed the school calendar, it gave due consideration to providing an “appropriate vacation” for the students and the teachers.
RELATED STORY: