The Department of Education (DepEd) clarified that private schools will not be required to follow the incoming three-term school calendar that public schools are set to adopt starting School Year 2026 to 2027.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said private institutions retain discretion over their academic schedules as long as they comply with national standards.

“It’s really more flexible in private schools,” Angara told reporters.

“They are free to have their own school year… as long as they comply with the curriculum and the minimum number of school days,” he added.

The clarification comes amid questions over DepEd’s plan to reorganize the academic year into three terms.

Angara also stressed that the model is not a trimester system, noting that subjects do not change from term to term.

“In a trimester system, each term has different subjects,” he said. “In a three-term system, it’s just a grading period, the subjects remain the same.”

According to Angara, some private schools have already expressed interest in voluntarily adopting the new schedule.

No genuine consultation

Earlier, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the shift lacked genuine consultation, disputing DepEd’s assertion that it conducted orientation activities nationwide.

“If there was truly broad consultation, why were so many teachers surprised by such a major policy shift?” ACT chairperson Ruby Bernardo said in a statement.

She argued that DepEd’s “orientation cascades” do not constitute meaningful consultation.

DepEd defended the three-term setup as part of efforts to address lost instructional days and improve scheduling predictability.

Data from the Second Education Congressional Commission (EDCOM II) showed that public schools lost as many as 53 school days in the 2023 to 2024 school year due to disruptions such as weather and other non-academic interruptions.

The shift is scheduled to take effect in public schools in June 2026.

Angara said private schools may keep their current semester-based calendars or modify them as needed, provided they meet DepEd’s minimum requirements.