SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a resolution seeking the re-evaluation of the “critical factors” in determining the opening of classes.
Gatchalian filed the resolution after a Pulse Asia survey conducted from June 19 to 23 showed that 80 percent of Filipinos are in favor of reverting to the old school calendar, wherein summer breaks are held during the months of April and May and classes start in June and end in March the next year.
Pulse Asia asked 1,200 respondents aged 18 and above whether they agreed or disagree with bringing back the students’ April and May summer break.
The survey showed 80 percent agreed to bring back the summer break in April and May, 11 percent were undecided, and 8 percent disagreed.
Eighty-one percent of those who agreed were from the National Capital Region, 73 percent from Balance Luzon, 90 percent from the Visayas, and 86 percent from Mindanao.
Eighty-three percent from social classes A, B, and C were among the 80 percent who agreed, 81 percent from social class D, and 75 percent from social class E.
Gatchalian said he filed Senate Resolution No. 672 based on the results of the survey.
He said there have been several calls to revert to the original school calendar, “however, pre-pandemic data showed numerous suspensions in the original school calendar.
“For SY 2017-2018, there were forty (40) days when classes were suspended due to typhoons, transport strikes, and earthquakes. For SY 2018-2019, there were 45 days when classes were suspended mostly due to weather disturbances,” Gatchalian said in the resolution.
He said there is a need to weigh the factors that will determine the school calendar since students have been affected by the scorching summer heat when classes were during April and May, while there were many suspensions of classes during the rainy season.
“There is a need to re-evaluate whether the school year should continue to be conducted during the summer when continuous heat exposure may be dangerous to one’s health or revert to the original calendar where classes were suspended largely due to floods because of typhoons,” Gatchalian said.
Republic Act No. 11480, which was signed on July 17, 2020, amended Section 3 of Republic No. 7797 which provides that the school year shall start on the first Monday of June but not later than the last day of August. Republic Act No. 7797 also lengthened the school calendar from 200 days to not more than 220 days.
Under Republic Act No.11480, the President, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Education, may set a different date for the start of the school year in parts or throughout the whole country in the event of a declaration of a state of emergency or state of calamity.
The enactment of Republic Act No. 11480 allowed the Department of Education (DepEd) to move the opening of School Year 2020-2021 to October 5, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
