DepEd to Shorten Next School Year by 15 Days to Avoid Extreme Heat

The Department of Education (DepEd) will reduce the school year 2024-2025 by 15 days. This change is to ensure that students and teachers are not in classrooms during the extreme summer heat in April and May 2025.

DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas announced that the new school year will start on July 29, 2024, and end on March 31, 2025. This means there will be 165 school days, which is 15 days less than the usual 180 to 220 days required by law.

Bringas explained that with the shorter school year, some subjects might not be fully covered. To address this, DepEd will take steps to ensure that all important lessons are taught within the reduced time.

President Marcos directed DepEd to go back to the June-to-March school calendar. While many people support this move, some worry that shorter school years might hurt students’ learning. Bringas assured that DepEd’s Bureau of Learning Delivery is making a plan to keep the quality of education high, even with fewer school days.

Experts suggest that new and effective teaching methods are needed to cover all subjects in less time. Bringas said that DepEd is working on several new ways to teach so that students still learn everything they need to.

One idea is to have online classes on weekends to make sure all subjects are covered.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools started the 2020 school year in October. When in-person classes resumed, the school year began in August. Many groups have been asking to return to the old June-to-March schedule because of the hot weather in March and April.

Read: List of Schools with Classes Suspended Due to Extreme Heat

Senator Bong Go supports the change, emphasizing the importance of student health during the hot season. He highlighted the need to balance health and quality education.

DepEd announced the new schedule through Department Order No. 003, Series of 2024. The order states that the academic calendar will shift back to the June-to-March schedule starting next school year.

The decision comes after reports of dangerously high temperatures, with Metro Manila recording its highest temperature of 38.8 degrees Celsius recently.

Pasig City Representative Roman Romulo proposed that teachers get extra leave credits to compensate for a shorter summer break. Currently, teachers get 60 to 70 days of summer vacation and 14 days for Christmas vacation. Romulo’s committee is also reviewing the new MATATAG curriculum to ensure learning continuity for students, especially those in Grades 1 to 3.

In summary, DepEd’s decision to shorten the school year aims to protect students and teachers from the extreme summer heat while ensuring that education quality is maintained through innovative teaching methods and careful planning.