Marcos open to immediately reverting to old school calendar

AMID HOT WEATHER

President Ferdinand ”Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said Wednesday that he is open to revert to the old school calendar amid the hot weather.

In an ambush interview, Marcos attributed the hot weather to climate change, which clearly has an implication to the school calendar.

”Oo, eh ang problema diyan, ang naging problema diyan ay ‘yung climate change, ‘yung bagong weather, yung season. Kagaya ngayon, hindi naman natin inaasahan na ganito. Usually by now napaka-init na, pero maaga pa ay mainit na talaga. Kaya tayo naka, kailangan naming mag adjust,” Marcos said.

(The problem is climate change, the new weather, the season. Right now, we didn’t expect it to be this way. Usually it’s hot now, but this early, it’s really hot. That’s what we need to adjust.)

”So constant ‘yan, hindi naman ‘yan para siyempre, hangga’t maaari gusto natin maibalik sa dati dahil I think may consensus na talaga at mas maganda ‘yung dating schedule. Kaya’t hindi naman sinasabi na hindi natin gagawin before next year or the year after that,” he added.

Marcos said the government would exert all efforts to hasten the implementation of the old schedule of the students.

”Susubukan namin gawin dahil sa aming palagay baka mahirapan pa tayo. Ngunit hanggang may paraan gagawin natin ng maaga para mapaaga at mapabilis ang pagbalik sa normal ang schedule ng mga bata,” Marcos said.

(We’ll try to make it … because we think we might have difficulties. But we’ll try to find ways to hasten the return to the normal schedule.)

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte has clarified that the consultations of the Department of Education with its personnel and stakeholders regarding the return of the June to March school calendar is already done, amid the calls to shorten its transition period.

“‘Yun na ang nalatag sa mga consultations natin na sa susunod na taon, matatapos tayo ng mid-May at sa susunod na taon ay matatapos tayo ng April and then balik na tayo sa March,” she said.

(We’ve already established based on the consultations that the next school year will end in mid-May, and the following year in April, until it reaches March.)

For the 2023-2024 school year, DepEd set the end of the academic year earlier than scheduled—or on May 31, 2024—to gradually shift back to the old school calendar with April-May as the summer vacation.

The SY 2024-2025 in public schools is set to start on July 29, 2024 and end on May 16, 2025. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News