Amid the disruptions in face-to-face classes due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday that he wants the school calendar reverted to its traditional start in June by next year — and not by 2027.

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 return to the former academic calendar.

He said he had asked Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte to come up with a concrete plan for the transition.

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

Presently, the upcoming school year will start this July and end in May 2025. Students are currently still in school year 2023-2024, which ends on 31 May.

However, the impact of El Niño and the 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 being what it is. Every day we turn on the news, face-to-face classes are canceled, F2F classes have been postponed, etcetera. So it’s badly needed,” said Marcos in 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,” he added.

Three-year transition

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

The DepEd had earlier told the President that school year 2024-2025 should end in March 2025 if there was to be a swift return to the old calendar that had the school vacation in April and May.

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.

The DepEd on Monday said it would abide by the decision of the President to revert to the old school calendar by next year.

“The most aggressive option I mentioned at the hearing would be ending school year 2024-2025 on 31 March 2025. And, yes, around 165 school days,” said DepEd deputy spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas, in a Viber message.

Vice President Duterte earlier said the return to the old school calendar cannot be rushed despite the calls from many sectors, including teachers’ groups, as she emphasized the need to consider the rest period of the teachers and students.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers and the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition have repeatedly called on the DepEd to speed up the transition period and revert to the old school calender.

This as the extreme heat has led to thousands of schools nationwide suspending face-to-face classes and shifting to alternative distance learning modes.

Last February, the DepEd announced a gradual return to the old school calendar starting next school year. Under the plan, school year 2024-2025 would start on 29 July and end on 16 May 2025.

Under that plan, now superseded by the President’s order, the old school calendar would only return in school year 2027-2028.