DepEd drops proposal of trimming down summer break to two weeks

The Department of Education on Wednesday said it is dropping its proposal to shorten the two-month student summer break to just two weeks.

"[D]ahil ako ang dating natanong dito, and I was very clear that it was not yet a policy, nasabi ko rin kanina na hindi na yan kasama sa proposals namin kapag nag-usap tungkol sa summer break," DepEd undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio told GMA News Online.

"I clarified that the previous news about a possible two-week summer break (attributed to me) will no longer be proposed by the Curriculum and Instruction strand," San Antonio meanwhile told reporters in a Viber message.

San Antonio made the statement after the department initially expressed its plan in February of shortening the two-month vacation of students.

On Tuesday, the DepEd extended the school year for basic education to July 10, 2021.

In DepEd Order No. 012, s. 2021 that amended the school calendar for 2020 to 2021, the department declared an intervention and remediation week from March 1 to 12 to address learning gaps among students and to give time to teachers for the different learning delivery modalities.

Likewise, the DepEd said it has identified a need to address learning gaps in order to “meet the required essential learning competencies.”

—LBG, GMA News