Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel (Facebook)

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel is prodding the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to take a cue from basic education and revert to the old academic calendar for higher education institutions (HEIs). 

In a statement Monday, May 27, the Makabayan solon gave a rare compliment to the government for its move to revert the academic calendar to allow students to begin classes in June and end in March. 

According to Manuel, the call has been "long overdue" and should be considered as well in higher education. 

"Ang tanong na lang po natin: Heatproof po ba ang college students? Sapat na ba na kapag lumala ang init, online class o distance learning na naman ang solusyon para sa college students?" asked the youth congressman. 

(Our only question is: Are college students heatproof? Is it enough of a solution for our college students to resort to online classes or distance learning when temperatures get too high.) 

"Kaya dapat i-review na rin ng CHEd ang patakaran ng maraming pamantasan na simulan ang academic year nila nang Agosto o Setyembre," Manuel said. 

(That's why CHEd must also review the rules of the many HEIs that began their academic year in August or September.) 

In the same statement, the outspoken Manuel also assailed what he described as CHEd's "obsession over international standards". 

"Since UP (University of the Philippines) began the trend in 2014 to move the calendar, sumunod na rin ang maraming pamantasan for the sake of being 'internationally competitive', pero gumanda ba ang kalidad ng edukasyon dahil sa calendar shift na to? 

(Other HEIs have followed suit for the sake of being "internationally competitive", but has the quality of education improved because of this calendar shift?) 

"Hindi pa yan napapatunayan. Sumabay lang tayo para sundin ang standards ng mga dayuhang pamantasan at kumpanya, pero napag-iiwanan naman ang sarili nating mga estudyante," Manuel said. 

(That hasn't been proven. We followed the standards of the foreign education institutions and companies, but we’ve left behind our own students.) 

"We reiterate that this colonial calendar shift never should have happened. It is cosmetic, unscientific and unnecessary. I-revert na rin natin ang college na sa June magsimula (let's revert the college school year to begin in June)," concluded Manuel.