To avoid the extreme heat which traditionally envelops the country during April to May, the Department of Education (DepEd) is eyeing an aggressive alternative of returning to the June-to-March school calendar which would end the current School Year 2024-2025 in March 2025 but would entail some sacrifices on the part of the students and teachers.

At the hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education chaired by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Cesar Bringas revealed that this is one of the alternative timelines for an adjusted schoolyear which the department submitted to the Office of the President.

“In response to the recent clamor for a more immediate reversion to the April-May school break, the department has already submitted a letter to the Office of the President presenting other options, including a more aggressive alternative of ending SY 2024-2025 in March 2025,” he said.

Extreme heat aggravated by El Niño in the past weeks has forced at least 7,000 schools to suspend in-person classes in the country, affecting the studies and learning pattern of more than 3.6 million students.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA has been reporting dangerous heat levels in various parts of the country everyday.

Health officials have consistently warned of the risks associated with extreme heat, including heat stroke, heat cramps, and dehydration, among others.

Bringas admitted that they are aware of the impact of the aggressive shortening of the school year to make way for a June-March calendar.

He discussed that ending classes earlier in the year will reduce the number of school days, which may require schools to conduct alternative delivery modes or remote learning even during weekends to comply with the law requiring DepEd to have a school calendar consisting of at least 180 days.

“We are looking at 165 days of full in-person classes,” the DepEd official said.

Bringas noted that students may also experience an even more compressed academic year in tackling the same number of competencies within a shorter number of school days.

“That’s why if we have 165 days of in-person classes, we have to look for some days to devote to ADM to cover some of the competencies that may not be taken up,” Bringas said, acknowledging that this may fall on weekends and holidays.

An earlier end to school year 2024-2025 may likewise shorten teachers’ school break, which may even impact their vacation pay, he stressed.

“This year, there are already two days compromised in teachers’ Proportional Vacation Pay, and they have already agreed to that. So, we will see how far the compromise can go,” he explained.

“That’s what we are seeing as a compromise if we do this aggressively. We have to sacrifice some hours for the learners and teachers as well,” Bringas added.

He stated that based on DepEd Order No. 003, s. 2024, the department sets the start and end of classes for school year 2024-2025 on July 29, 2024 and May 16, 2025.

“In the meantime, we ask the committee to allow the president to study the matter more carefully,” Bringas told the Senate panel.

PAGASA’s Deputy Administrator for Research and Development Marcelino Villafuerte explained during the Senate hearing that both the old and new academic calendars have their advantages and disadvantages.

Villafuerte said that based on a 2017 study, the old June-March school calendar may be outside the peak of hot weather, but it coincides with periods of typhoons and extreme rainfall.

Above-normal rainfalls usually cause floods.

Villafuerte also warned that the country may experience even hotter temperatures in May, which will then be followed with the La Niña phenomenon or heavy rainfall.

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