Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 28) — Schools cannot return soon to the old academic calendar of June to March, the Department of Education (DepEd) said Monday amid clamor for a shift to the previous schedule from students and teachers struggling to hold classes during the dry season..
“By June 2024, we cannot yet go into a June opening because the (school year) 2023-2024 is going to end on June 14,” DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
In a Senate hearing on Aug. 23, some education stakeholders expressed their support to return to the old school calendar. Aside from the heat, they also raised concerns on having to deal with more serious health concerns during the present school calendar of August to May like chicken pox.
The DepEd moved the opening of classes from June to October in 2020 due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It then set the start of school years to August.
Bringas said the department is studying the shift back to the old school calendar.
“We have a study already in our bureau that looks at at least 3-4 years before we can gradually transition to a June opening,” he noted.
Latest DepEd data showed that over 22 million students have enrolled for the academic year 2023-2024, of which 19 million are from public schools and 3 million from private schools.
