DepEd bans weekend homework in public elementary schools

The Department of Education (DepEd) has prohibited public elementary school teachers from giving their pupils homework to do over the weekend, to give children enough time to play and to interact with their parents. Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro issued on Thursday Memorandum No. 392, which provides guidelines for giving assignments to all public elementary school pupils. “No homework or assignments shall be given during weekends for pupils to enjoy their childhood, and spend quality time with their parents without being burdened by the thought of doing lots of homework," the memorandum stated. As for assigning homework during schooldays, Luistro likewise instructed public elementary school heads to “limit the giving of assignments to a reasonable quantity to give their pupils ample time to rest and relax at home."
DepEd Undersecretary for Programs and Projects Yolanda Quijano explained that the memorandum was issued due to various complaints the department has been receiving on “too many" assignments given to school children. “Sinasabi ng parents na nahihirapan ang kanilang mga anak sa binibigay na homework na marami," she said in an interview aired over GMA News’ “24 Oras." (Parents say their children feel overburdened by the amount of homework given to them.) Quijano added that the new policy aims to remind teachers about exercising care in assigning their pupils the right “quantity" of homework. “Kung ang bata ay Grade 2, huwag naman marami, na two hours gagawa siya ng homework. Halimbawa, magbigay ka ng homework na tatlong exercises, pero maayos na ginagawa at hindi masyadong mahirap. Yung quantity na iyon, enough na," she said. (Consider children in Grade 2. Don’t overload them, such that they spend two hours doing homework. For example, you could give as homework three exercises that are properly done and not too hard. That kind of quantity is enough.) The DepEd will monitor in the following days the effectivity of the new memorandum based on public elementary pupils’ study habits, according to Quijano.—Andreo C. Calonzo/JV, GMANews.TV