If approved by the Office of the President, DepEd said the incoming school year may still start on July 29, 2024, and will end on March 31, 2025, in time for the June school opening in School Year 2025-2026.
The school calendar, however, will be "shortened" to 165 days from the usual 180 days in the previous year.
DepEd prepares proposed calendar for possible 'shortened' school year: What to expect
May 8, 2024 08:00 AM
At a glance
Following the clamor to revert to the old school calendar, an official of the Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday, May 8, said the agency is currently preparing the proposed school calendar for a possible “shortened” school year.
“Nire-ready na natin at ipina-finalize lang natin yung details ng ating proposed school calendar for this school year and for the coming school year para maging normal na ang ating school year (We have already prepared and just need to finalize the details of our proposed school calendar for this school year and the coming school year to normalize our school year),” said DepEd Assistant Secretary and Deputy Spokesperson Francis Cesar Bringas during a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview.
Bringas said that DepEd has already submitted a letter to the Office of the President (OP) recommending the “revert to the traditional” June to March school year.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2024/5/6/dep-ed-to-comply-with-marcos-decision-on-reverting-to-old-school-calendar
This, he explained, will only happen if the incoming school year or SY 2024-2025 will end in March next year to start the June opening.
The school calendar, however, will be "shortened" to 165 days from the usual 180 days in the previous year.
In the letter to OP, DepEd said the incoming school year may still start on July 29, 2024, and will end on March 31, 2025, in time for the June school opening in SY 2025-2026.
Basis for recommendation
Reverting to the old school calendar, Bringas explained, is a result of the consultation with education stakeholders.
“Our original plan is a transition to June opening in a period of five school years,” he said. “But after our nationwide consultation with our relevant stakeholders in education, we reduced the five years into two school years,” he added.
Referring to an existing DepEd Order, Bringas said the original plan is to implement the old school calendar by SY 2026-2027.
“But since public clamor ang lumalabas sa mga surveys natin sa mga parents and teachers na they still prefer the April-May na vacation or school break kaya nagkaroon tayo ng ganitong decision or stand or position na ibalik na nang mas maaga sa June yung ating opening (But due to public clamor reflected in our surveys among parents and teachers, they still prefer the April-May vacation or school break [and] that's why we have made the decision or taken the stand to move the opening back to June),” he explained.
Various groups have been pushing for the reversion to the pre-pandemic school calendar where classes start in June and end in March due to the hot weather experienced during April and May.
Schools have been suspending face-to-face classes since last month due to the sweltering heat experienced nationwide.
READ:
Adjusting the school calendar
Due to the impact of hot weather and to revert to the traditional school calendar, DepEd has made adjustments in the current school year.
DepEd has set the end of SY 2023-2024 on May 31 and scheduled the opening of the incoming school year, SY 2024-2025, on July 29.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2024/2/20/dep-ed-sets-opening-for-school-year-2024-2025-on-july-29
Bringas said that DepEd is also making adjustments to the proposed school calendar for the incoming school year.
“We are looking now at the possibility of ending the SY 2024-2025 by March 31, 2025 para makapag-start tayo ng (so we can start by) June 2025 para sa (for) SY 2025-2026,” he explained.
With the proposed adjustment for the SY 2024-2025 school calendar, Bringas said that learners and teachers will have two months of vacation when classes end in March 2025.
“If we do that cycle for 2025-2026, sisiguraduhin pa rin natin na magkakaroon ng break ang mga teachers and learners for April and May (we will ensure that teachers and learners still have a break in April and May),” he added.
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