Teachers 'surprised' by three-term school calendar —ACT

Teachers’ group Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on Wednesday disputed the Department of Education’s (DepEd) claim that educators were "widely consulted" on the shift to a three-term school calendar.

In a statement, ACT said DepEd’s assertion of “exhaustive consultations” does not match the experience of teachers on the ground.

“If there was truly broad consultation, why were so many teachers surprised by such a major policy shift?” ACT Chairperson Ruby Bernardo asked.

“An orientation cascade cannot be equated with meaningful participation of teachers in policymaking,” she added.

DepEd earlier said the proposed three-term school calendar—set to begin in School Year 2026–2027—was developed through multi-level consultations involving teachers, school leaders, parents, and other stakeholders.

However, ACT maintained that the process fell short of genuine engagement, describing it as "top-down" rather than participatory.

Responding to GMA News Online, DepEd said the shift to the three-term calendar was not rushed, noting that it underwent 12 major consultations starting January 29, including engagements with the House of Representatives and the Senate. 

DepEd also said that it conducted a national online survey and regional workshops until March 11 to gather feedback from teachers, parents, and learners.

“Naka-sync ang planning sa lahat ng levels ng DepEd, at dumaan ito sa malawak na konsultasyon kasama ang iba’t ibang stakeholders,” the department's media office said.

(Planning was synchronized across all levels of DepEd, and this went through extensive consultations with various stakeholders.)

DepEd also maintained that the shift to a three-term school calendar is a "strategic response to persistent disruptions in the school year."

ACT, meanwhile, stressed that meaningful reform should focus on improving conditions in schools rather than restructuring the academic calendar.

“The roots of the education crisis are not in the calendar,” Bernardo said. “What we need are enough teachers, sufficient education support personnel, adequate facilities, complete learning materials, and decent, livable salaries.”

Calendar

Under the three-term school calendar, classes are expected to begin in early June, with the first term running from June to September, the second term from September to December, and the third term from January to late March.

Each term will include an instructional block lasting around 54 to 61 days focused on continuous teaching and learning, with minimal disruption from non-academic activities.

These will be complemented by designated enrichment blocks for remediation, assessment, grading, lesson planning, and wellness breaks for both teachers and learners. A dedicated opening block will also be implemented at the start of the school year for learner profiling, baseline assessments, and administrative preparation.

DepEd has said the reform aims to improve the use of instructional time, citing data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) showing that up to 53 out of 180 school days in School Year 2023–2024 were lost due to weather disturbances and other non-instructional interruptions.

DepEd also stressed that the reform is intended to ease teacher workload by streamlining grading cycles and scheduling administrative tasks within designated periods, reducing overlap with teaching responsibilities.

The department further said this will undergo continuous monitoring and review as implementation approaches in School Year 2026–2027. —VAL, GMA Integrated News