DepEd: Classes start June 13

MANILA, Philippines – Classes in public schools nationwide will open on June 13, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced yesterday.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro confirmed the schedule of the opening of classes, which will cover students in public elementary, junior and senior high school. 

The DepEd has yet to release a memorandum detailing the school calendar for the incoming academic year. But previous issuances allow private schools to deviate from the calendar prescribed for public schools.

Under Republic Act 7797 that sets the length of the school calendar, private schools may not start classes earlier than the first Monday of June and not later than the last day of August. 

Preparations for the incoming school year are ongoing, primarily due to the scheduled implementation of the K-12 program. 

The K-12, the flagship education reform program of the Aquino administration, will add two years to basic education in the country, with graduates of Grade 10 (former fourth year high school) proceeding first to senior high school before being allowed to enroll in higher education or college programs.  

The government has allocated billions for to build new classrooms, buy equipment and create new teaching positions for the senior high school program. 

The Department of Budget and Management has also set some P12 billion for the voucher program, which will provide subsidy to public school Grade 10 completers who wish to study in private senior high schools. 

DepEd earlier announced that it would reopen the application process for the senior high school voucher program.

New applications for the program will be accepted online starting tomorrow up to May 6. 

DepEd said the application would be open to students who finished junior high school (Grade 10) in private schools in the past school year. 

All applications must be submitted online through the Online Voucher Application Portal of the Private Education Assistance Committee at http://ovap.deped.gov.ph.