Marcos wants to revert to old academic calendar by 2025

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday that he wants to revert the country's school calendar to its traditional start in June by 2025 at the back of consistent disruptions in face-to-face classes amid the ongoing El Niño weather phenomenon.

In a media interview after attending the 2024 Government-Owned and Controlled Corporation (GOCC) Day, Marcos was asked about the Department of Education's (DepEd) recommendation to revert to the traditional academic calendar.

He said he already asked Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sara Duterte to provide a concrete plan for the transition.

Changing the academic calendar was first introduced in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced educational institutions worldwide to adapt to new academic schedules and learning methods.

Currently, the upcoming school year starts in July 2024 and ends in May 2025.

Students are currently still facing the school year 2023 to 2024, which ends this 31 May.

However, the impact of El Niño and frequent class suspensions have reignited discussions about returning to the previous calendar.

"I don't see any objections really from anyone, especially with the El Niño (phenomenon) being what it is. Every day, we turn on the news, face-to-face (F2F) classes are canceled, F2F classes have been postponed, etcetera. So it's badly needed," Marcos said in a mix of English and Filipino.

"That's part of the plan that we are trying to do, to bring it back to the old setting. I think it will be better for the kids. Hopefully by next year, yes, it will be completed," Marcos added.

As of late April, 7,188 of the 47,678 schools, most of which lack climate-resilient classrooms, had switched to remote learning due to the intense heat.

DepEd previously told Marcos that the School Year 2024-2025 should conclude in March 2025, in response to calls for a swift return to the April-May school break.

The agency noted that it would take a minimum of three years to fully revert to the April-May break and that concluding the school year in March 2025 would reduce the academic calendar to 165 days.