Solon opposes Saturday classes; calls for review of 'unnecessary' holidays

Instead of holding Saturday classes, the Department of Education (DepEd) should do away with "unnecessary" holidays and activities that consume academic hours of the students, a House leader said Tuesday.

On Monday's hearing of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture, DepEd director Leila Areola said the department is considering holding classes on certain Saturdays to compensate for the learning loss once they revert to the old school calendar.

The DepEd has set the start of classes for the school year (SY) 2024-2025 from 29 July until 31 March next year.

SY 2025-2026, meanwhile, will open by June.

According to Areola, reverting to the traditional academic calendar would reduce the number of school days from the ideal 180 to 163.

House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin, however, did not buy the idea of holding make-up classes on Saturday, claiming this would result in additional expense for parents who take their children to school.

"I am not amenable to having Saturday classes in order to catch-up. But I am proposing before the Department of Education to do away with unnecessary holidays. To do away with many other activities that actually take away academic hours among the students," Garin told the media.

"A Saturday class will really be a burden to the parents, especially parents who actually have weekend jobs."

The Iloilo lawmaker proposed that the DepEd should instead consider lessening the implementation of extracurricular activities, if not extending school hours.

"We also have a lot of festivals, and I'm very supportive of those festivals. It's just that sometimes the school has a lot of extracurricular activities [to the point that] they suspend classes, resulting in a lack of school days," she said.

"There should be a balance between academic and personality development. We cannot exclude such activities, sports. However, local activities should not be excessive."

In the same vein, Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman said weekends should be better left for students who "also need time with their families and also for mental health."

"It's a balance of leisure, sports, and studies," said Roman in the same press briefing.

The DepEd is all set to gradually revert to the old school calendar, which was altered by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown in 2020.

Prior to the pandemic, there had been calls to synchronize the Philippines' school year with that of other countries since June and July typically coincide with the typhoon season, leading to class suspensions.

However, Roman said there is also a need to consider the tropical and maritime climate in the Philippines, which, according to state weather bureau Pagasa, is characterized by relatively high temperatures, high humidity, and abundant rainfall.

"We can manage floods and rains, and in fact, most of our schools are used as evacuation centers,"," Roman said.