CHED urged to also revert to June-March school calendar

Kabataan party-list lawmaker Raoul Manuel called on the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to revert the state universities, colleges, and other higher education institutions school calendar to the June-to-March schedule.

Manuel said the CHED should take its cue from the Department of Education, whose proposal to return to the June to March school year by 2025 had been approved by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

"Ang tanong na lang po natin: Heatproof po ba ang college students? Sapat na ba na kapag lumala ang init, online class o distance learning na naman ang solusyon para sa college students?” Manuel asked.

(The question is, are college students heatproof? Is holding online classes or distance learning enough when it is extremely hot?)

“Kaya dapat i-review na rin ng CHED ang patakaran ng maraming pamantasan na ang simula ng academic year nila ay Agosto o Setyembre," Manuel added.

(The CHED should review the policy of having the school year start in August or September.)

Manuel said that since the state-run University of the Philippines started the trend of moving to an August to May calendar in 2014, other HEIs followed suit to become internationally competitive.

However, face-to-face classes were suspended during the last two months this year due to the extreme heat.

“Gumanda ba ang kalidad ng edukasyon dahil sa calendar shift na ito? Hindi pa yan napapatunayan. Sumabay lang tayo para sundin ang standards ng mga dayuhang pamantasan at kumpanya, pero napag-iiwanan naman ang sarili nating mga estudyante," Manuel said.

(Did the calendar shift improve the quality of education? That has yet to be proven. We just went along with foreign schools but at the cost of our students getting left behind.)

"We reiterate that this colonial calendar shift never should have happened. It is cosmetic, unscientific, and unnecessary. I-revert na rin natin ang college na sa June magsimula. At sa paparating muli na budget deliberations tiyakin natin ang sapat na pondo para tiyakin ang kalidad ng edukasyon," Manuel added.

(We should go back to starting classes in June, and with the upcoming budget deliberations, we should ensure that there is adequate funding to ensure the delivery of quality education.)

GMA News Online has sought comment from CHED Chairperson Prospero de Vera Jr. and will publish his comment as soon as it becomes available. — DVM, GMA Integrated News