DepEd eyes longer school year, short summer

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) is studying proposals to extend the current grading period in public schools by two weeks, resulting in a shorter summer break.

DepEd Undersecretary for curriculum and instruction Diosdado San Antonio said there are proposals to have a two-week extension to the ongoing second grading period.

“That means that the school calendar will move by two weeks if this is approved,” he said in Filipino in an interview yesterday with GMA News.

The current school year, which started last Oct. 5, was originally set to end on June 5. However, following the adjustments to the school calendar that extended the first grading period by two weeks, DepEd said the fourth grading period will now end on June 11.

Remediation or “summer classes” are scheduled from June 14 to July 23, while the start of the new school year has yet to be announced.

Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) national president Benjo Basas slammed the proposal, noting that teachers would not be able to finish their tasks if the traditional two-month break will be shortened.

“It is not true that the work of teachers has been reduced. In fact, it even increased due to dependency on technology and the clerical tasks,” he said in Filipino.

Face-to-face classes

During the Palace press briefing, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that she will provide President Duterte with an update on the current situation to help him decide on whether to allow the pilot implementation of face-to-face classes in low risk areas.

The secretary said DepEd conducted a survey among more than one million students, teachers and parents on their thoughts about the physical reopening of schools.

“We said that more than 50 percent (of the students) really want face-to-face because they are the ones who will benefit,” she added.

DepEd has yet to release details of the survey.

Institutionalize NEAP

Meanwhile, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said DepEd’s professional development arm, the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), should be institutionalized to improve the quality of teacher education and training.

Under Gatchalian’s Senate Bill 1887 or the Teacher Education Council Act, the NEAP will be mandated to guarantee that professional development activities are at par with the 21st century learning environment and linked with the career progression of teachers and school leaders.

“Our strengthening of the NEAP is one of our proposed measures to ensure that we continue to provide quality training to our teachers and school leaders to enhance their skills so that they can also be promoted,” Gatchalian said.

NEAP’s transformation is also part of DepEd’s initiatives on upskilling and reskilling teachers, one of the pillars of the national reform plan Sulong Edukalidad, which pivots focus from access to quality in education. – Cecille Suerte Felipe