DepEd to look into number of school days after successive class cancellations

After classes have been canceled due to the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Meetings, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday said it will look into whether the remaining number of school days are enough for the school year.

In an interview on "Hirit ni Mareng Winnie" on Unang Balita, DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali said there are a total of 195 class days for this school year. However, due to class suspensions brought by typhoons, transportation strikes, and the recently concluded ASEAN Summit, students have fewer school days.

Under Department Order Number 25, Series of 2017 of DepEd, the school year 2017-2018 shall formally open on June 5, 2017 and shall end on April 6, 2018.

It shall consist of 204 school days inclusive of the five-day in-service training and four days of parent-teacher conferences (PTC) conducted every quarter.

"Actually we will look into this and sabi nga po ng ating Ma'am Briones kasi dinatnan niya naman po itong ganitong kalendaryo. Ganyan na po 'yan dati—202, 204 nandiyan po naglalaro 'yung dami ng school calendar days natin. At sabi po ni Ma'am ay titingnan po natin," Umali said.

He added that the school calendar may be extended to compensate for the days the students have missed.

"The answer should be yes, kasi po 'yung policy naman po natin ay bagamat 195 class days po ito and we really wanted our children to be in school and learning should take take place in all those 195 days, kapag nagkakaroon ng mga kanselasyon ng mga klase at nakikita po ng school principal and in coordination with the school's division superintendent na bumababa na po 'yung class days, 'yung pagpasok ng mga bata to less than 180, kailangan na po talagang mag makeup classes," he said.

"Kasi 'yung 180 days of this 195 class days, non-negotiable 'yon, kailangan may contact time," he added.

The 15-day "buffer" time might have already been used by some schools which should prompt conduct of make-up classes, Umali said.

"Sigurado po na may mga paaralan tayo o lugar na talagang ubos na po itong 15 days na binanggit niyo. Pero meron hindi pa nauubos kasi iba-iba po 'yung sitwasyon sa buong Piliipinas," he said. "

"May mga lugar na definitely naubos na po ito and they are already conducting their makeup classes," he added. —Marlly Rome Bondoc/KG, GMA News