Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Wednesday, April 22, welcomed the approval by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of the country’s return to the old school calendar amid calls for the immediate restoration of the April-May school break.
“While it may inconvenience the school administrations as they will have to make adjustments again, the summer heat is just not suitable for our students to be inside the classrooms, especially in public schools,” Lacson said.
The Presidential Communications Office announced Wednesday that in response to public concerns on the schedule of classes, the president on Tuesday approved to start reverting the country’s school calendar to the traditional arrangement.
The opening of classes for school year 2024-2025 will begin on July 29 this year and end on April 15, 2025. This will start the gradual return of the school year to June of every year until end of March the next year, it said.
Marcos gave his approval during a meeting with Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte at Malacañan Palace on Tuesday.
The Vice President presented two options to the President for the school calendar shift, the PCO said.
The first option comprised of 182 school days with 15 in-person Saturday classes while the second option was to have 167 school days with no in-person Saturday classes. Both options will end the SY on March 31, 2025
But the President said the 167-day school calendar is “too short” as such arrangement will significantly reduce the number of school days and contact time that may compromise learning outcomes.
He also did not want students to be going to school on Saturdays to complete the 182-day school calendar because it will jeopardize their well-being and demand more resources.
As a compromise, he said instead of ending on March 31, 2025, DepEd should adjust the SY to end on April 15, 2025 to enable students to complete 182 days without using Saturdays to go to school.*