DepEd announces start of School Year 2022-2023 on August 22

MANILA — The Department of Education (DepEd) issues an order declaring the start of School Year 2022-2023 for elementary and secondary schools, including community learning centers (CLCs), on August 22. 

Under the DepEd Order No. 34, schools are expected to hold 203 days of classes. The duration of classes under the Alternative Learning System will depend on the learner’s educational background and existing knowledge. 

“The School Year 2022-2023 shall formally open on Monday, August 22, 2022 and shall end on July 7, 2023,” the order read.

The enrollment period will run from July 25 until August 22, according to the agency, which will also release a separate set of guidelines.

Private schools, as well as state universities and colleges that provide basic education, may adopt the new DepEd school calendar “given that classes begin no earlier than the first Monday of June and no later than the last day of August.”

Regardless of the Covid-19 alert level that the health department and Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases will impose, DepEd stated that its order will remain in effect.

In-person classes by November

According to DepEd’s order, all public and private schools should already be holding five days of in-person classes every week by November.

“Starting November 2, 2022, all public and private schools shall have transitioned to five days of in-person classes. After the said date, no school shall be allowed to implement purely distance learning or blended learning except for those that are implementing Alternative Delivery Modes (ADM),” the order said. 

DepEd anticipated that the transition to in-person classes would pose stress and challenges for learners.

“Hence, providing psychosocial support during the first week of the school year is imperative in promoting, protecting and prioritizing the learners’ socio-emotional well-being, and developing their coping skills for this transition.”

Those public schools that have already begun conducting the five-day in-person classes will continue to do so for the upcoming academic year.

DepEd Order No. 34 is one of the first orders signed by Vice President Sara Duterte, who is concurrently education secretary.

The pandemic and health protocols against the COVID-19 virus compelled schools to adopt distance learning methods. The sudden shift to online learning was beset by a number of difficulties, including the lack of funding for gadgets and a poor internet connection, as well as the difficulties of distributing learning modules to rural places.