Teachers’ leader to attend House educ hearing on school calendar
TEACHERS’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) Chairperson Benjo Basas will attend the hearing of the House Basic Education Committee as the panel, chaired by Pasig Representative Roman Romulo, deliberates on several proposed measures pertaining to the return to the June to March school calendar.
According to Basas, the issue doesn’t need any legislation as the Department of Education (DepEd) has the authority to set the opening of the school year or to prescribe the school calendar based on existing laws.
“Pero mas mainam na rin kung merong batas,” Basas said.
The House panel will tackle two bills and a resolution regarding the matter. Basas said that they are content that many legislators are now supportive of the proposal, and even the DepEd has initiated a move through a consultation with stakeholders recently and agreed to gradually return to the old setup.
Similar proposals have been filed in the Senate, one of which was a resolution authored by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, Romulo’s counterpart in the Senate.
Gatchalian cited a June 2023 survey that revealed 80 percent of Filipinos approved the reverting of summer break to April and May.
In two separate letters before the opening of school year 2023-2024, the TDC proposed a gradual revert to the old school calendar, with school years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 as transition periods and school year 2025-2026 as full implementation of the return to the June-March school cycle.
The Department of Education, in its response, said that it is studying several proposals.
On January 15, also in a hearing of the House Basic Education Committee, Basas raised the issue, and Romulo directed the DepEd officials to respond, in which Undersecretary Michael Poa confirmed they have considered the revert and in fact conducted ongoing consultations with stakeholders.
A day later, DepEd and some organizations of parents, students, school leaders, and teachers, including the TDC, sat in a consultation at the Central Office.
“Maayos naman ang naging consultation at may inabot na consensus. For now, the DepEd has committed to ending the current school year by May 31, and the next school year will open by July 29.
There’s a 59-day school break, and if the plan materializes, we can open the school year 2025-2026 by June 2025,” Basas shared.
