As they welcomed the support given by President Marcos for the immediate return to the old school calendar, teachers’ groups on Monday, May 6, also urged the government to address shortages in basic education.
Teachers' Dignity Coalition (TDC), in a statement, acknowledged Marcos' agreement with the latest proposal of the Department of Education (DepEd) to revert to the old school calendar by the next school year.
TDC, one of the groups that advocated for the return to the old calendar, also expressed gratitude to Marcos for “promptly responding to the clamor of the parents, learners, teachers, and the general public.”
“Ngayong umayon na maging and pangulo sa pagbabalik ng pasok na nakagawian nating Hunyo hanggang Marso, kailangan na ring agad na mag-adjust ang DepEd (Since the President has agreed to return to the traditional June to March school calendar, DepEd needs to adjust immediately),” TDC National Chairperson Benjo Basas said.
He noted that the school calendar for the next school year, 2024-2025, should end in March 2025 so that classes can resume in June for the SY 2025-2026.
During the Senate committee on basic education last week, DepEd confirmed that it has submitted a proposal to the Office of the President for what it termed an “aggressive return” to the old calendar.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2024/5/6/dep-ed-to-comply-with-marcos-decision-on-reverting-to-old-school-calendar
Go beyond calendar adjustment
In a separate statement, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines challenged the Marcos administration to “take decisive action” in resolving education shortages and confronting the climate crisis and emphasized the need for more substantive measures beyond a “mere calendar adjustment.”
“We should claim the credit for public school teachers, students and parents who consistently clamored for the reverting to the old school calendar since 2023 when we first suffered the full impact of the government's neglect of the public school system in hot months—overcrowded classrooms with poor ventilation that jeopardized our health and deteriorated learning,” ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua said.
He pointed out that addressing the “dire learning environment should not end in an administrative act of changing the school calendar but should continue with more substantive steps of hiring more teachers and building more classrooms to reduce the class size, and ensuring proper ventilation in all learning spaces.”
Moreover, ACT urged the government to “comprehensively address the worsening climate crisis” that “adversely affects not only the education sector but the whole socio-economic life of our people.”
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https://mb.com.ph/2024/5/6/7-372-schools-suspend-face-to-face-classes-on-may-6-dep-ed