DepEd: Private schools not mandated to change school calendar

Private schools have the leeway to adjust their academic calendars along with public schools for the gradual return of the June-March school year, the Department of Education (DepEd) said Thursday.  

DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas made the clarification following the issuance of Department Order 003 which set the end of the school year 2023-2024 for public schools earlier than May 31, 2024.

This was for the gradual return of the old school calendar with April-May as the summer vacation.

Bringas said that some private schools already opened the current academic year in July or June last year, but some also joined the school opening of public schools in August.

“‘Yung mga private schools na sumabay sa public schools na nag-open ng August, hindi naman sila mandatory na mag-adjust ng kanila school calendars. They still have the option to maintain their approved calendar or adjust accordingly,” he said in a public briefing. 

(Private schools that joined the public schools that opened in August are not mandated to adjust their school calendars.) 

The SY 2024-2025 in public schools is set to start on July 29, 2024 and end on May 16, 2025. This means that the school break for this year will be from June 1 to July 28, including the weekends. 

Citing DepEd’s projections, Undersecretary Michael Poa earlier said that the pre-pandemic June-March school calendar might return by SY 2026-2027, with the school break beginning by the first week of April by then. —Giselle Ombay/ VAL, GMA Integrated News