A TEACHERS’ group has asked the Department of Education (DepEd) to consider reverting the school calendar back to the original scheme as an “immediate step.”

According to Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC), years ago, when the school calendar was adjusted, the group was against it after the proponents claimed that it would “align” the Philippines with the school cycle of other countries and it would avoid the rainy season in the months of June and July.

The group said, “How we justify disrupting the lives of 28 million learners to accommodate a little number of the privileged transferring to countries whose climates are dissimilar to the Philippines (?).”

The group pointed out that “we never bought the weather argument because the proposed scheme would sandwich the school year between the two extremes of Philippine weather: 1) the most dangerous typhoons from August to December and 2) the burning months of April and May. But the pandemic forced us to do face-to-face classes starting in late August 2022 to the middle of July 2023, nudging us to where we are now.”

This school year, the group explained that “we had extreme heat in schools, a terrible ordeal for teachers and students. Many fell ill.” The heat spell forced many schools to switch back to less-desirable online and modular learning. Classes were shortened for the same reason.

All of these were implemented to mitigate the impact of the heat, “aggravated by our congested, poorly ventilated, and inadequately insulated classrooms.” These alternative methods adversely affect learning that can never be recovered once missed. There is simply no substitute for face-to-face classes, TDC stated.

TDC, however, recognized and appreciated the recent pronouncements and decisions of the DepEd about the matter.

The OASOPAS Memorandum 2023-077, the public statements released by the agency’s official website, the comments made by the Spokesperson, and the local instructions from the SDOs and ROs, to some degree, respond to the “clamor” of learners, parents, and teachers.

“We, however, are banking on strategic solutions such as reducing class size, building more classrooms designed for the Philippine climate, etc. On rationalizing the timing of the school year, we formally ask your office to consider reverting the school calendar back to the original scheme as an immediate step,” the group stressed.

TDC proposed the following for the consideration of the DepEd:

1. The start of classes for the next school year, SY 2023-2024, be set on August 28 (allowing for a 46-day school break), and the end be set on April 27, 2024. Here, the total number of school days shall be 193, including 33 Saturdays of asynchronous class.

2. The remaining 14 days be treated as leave credit or paid vacation or sick leave, to be availed as needed by individual teachers, thereby completing the average 60-day school break. To accomplish this, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) may need to draw pertinent policies.

3. School Year 2024-2025 shall start on June 17, 2024 (with 44 days school break) and shall end on April 11, 2025 or 198 days. As with the above, to complete the average of 60-day school break, the remaining 16 days shall be treated as leave credit or paid vacation or sick leave.

In this scheme, the DepEd could ensure that by SY 2024-2025, we would have reverted to our old school calendar with minimal adjustments, and without sacrificing the mandatory school break for teachers. Lastly, for SY 2025-2026, we will be fully reverted to the original June-March school calendar, which has worked for the country ever since.

“We hope that this proposal from the collective wisdom of our teachers and school administrators will receive the proper consideration it merits,” the TDC ended.