MANILA — Public elementary and high schools will start the next school year on Aug. 29, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced yesterday.
Private schools, meanwhile, may choose to open classes on any date starting “the first Monday of June but not later than the last day of August,” the agency said in a statement, citing the law that set the length of the school year.
Last year, the DepEd temporarily set the next school year to run from Aug. 28, 2023 to July 28, 2024. However, the target date for opening of classes was later declared a holiday to commemorate National Heroes’ Day.
The department order outlining the school calendar, which would finalize the schedule and the number of school days, has yet to be released.
The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) had urged the agency to shorten the next school year and end it on April 27, 2024 to allow the opening of classes in June next year.
“The proposed schedule includes 33 Saturdays of asynchronous class, bringing the total number of school days to 193, which is more than the DepEd-prescribed 180 non-negotiable school days,” the teachers’ group said.
If DepEd adopts the proposal, the TDC said that School Year 2024 to 2025 may run from June 17, 2024 to April 11, 2025, for a total of 198 days with 44 days of school break.
“With this scheme, we could revert to the old schedule by SY 2024-2025 with very minimal adjustment and without sacrificing the mandatory two-month school break for teachers. And by SY 2025-2026, we will be fully reverted to the country’s traditional June-March school schedule, which has served our nation well for years,” said TDC chairperson Benjo Basas.
Groups are urging the DepEd to revert to the old school calendar, citing the extreme heat experienced by students when in-person classes were held last March and April.
The agency has yet to decide on the matter. But officials earlier said that reverting to the old calendar – if it pushes through – would be implemented “gradually” to ensure that there will still be breaks between school years. (philstar)
