MANILA, Philippines — The academic year for elementary and secondary schools, as well as community learning centers (CLCs), will open on August 22, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced in an order.
According to DepEd Order No. 34, schools are expected to hold 203 days of classes. The duration of classes under the Alternative Learning System will depend on the learner's educational background and existing knowledge.
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"The School Year 2022-2023 shall formally open on Monday, August 22, 2022 and shall end on July 7, 2023," the order, which was also posted on the department's Facebook page, read.
In the order's implementing guidelines, the agency said that the enrollment period will be from July 25 up until Aug. 22, adding that it will be releasing a separate set of guidelines for this.
Private schools, and state universities and colleges that offer basic education may follow DepEd's new school calendar, "provided they start classes not earlier than the first Monday of June and not later than the last day of August."
DepEd said that its order will apply regardless of the COVID-19 alert level that the health department and Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases will impose.
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In-person classes by November
All public and private schools should already be holding five days of in-person classes every week by November, according to DepEd.
"Starting November 2, 2022, all public and private schools shall have transitioned to five days of in-person classes. After the said date, no school shall be allowed to implement purely distance learning or blended learning except for those that are implementing Alternative Delivery Modes (ADM)," the order's guidelines said.
DepEd recognized that the transition to in-person classes would bring about stress and challenges for learners.
"Hence, providing psychosocial support during the first week of the school year is imperative in promoting, protecting and prioritizing the learners' socio-emotional well-being, and developing their coping skills for this transition."
Meanwhile, public schools that have already started holding the five-day in-person classes will continue doing so during the incoming school year.
DepEd Order No. 34 is among the first orders signed by Vice President Sara Duterte, who is concurrently education secretary.
The pandemic and health protocols against COVID-19 forced schools to shift to distance learning methods. The abrupt transition to online learning was fraught with several problems, such as the lack of funds for gadgets and spotty internet connection, as well as the difficulty of delivering learning modules to remote areas.