ILOCOS Sur Rep. Ronald Singson has filed a bill seeking to move back the opening of the school year from August to June.
House Bill No. 8508 seeks to establish the first Monday of June of every year as the start of the academic year to harmonize the opening of the academic year for all Philippine schools.
The bill covers all basic education institutions in the country, including foreign and international schools.
The bill would amend Republic Act. No. 7797, as amended, otherwise known as “An Act to Lengthen the School Calendar from Two Hundred (200) Days to Not More Than Two Hundred Twenty (220) Class Days.”
“More than overhauling, revising, and redesigning the existing curriculum, other issues on education, such as setting a school calendar that is most beneficial to learners, should also be considered,” the bill said.
The change in the academic calendar was the result of the two-year lockdown on learners.
Singson said the lifting of pandemic restrictions and the full implementation of face-to-face classes should prompt the Department of Education to gradually change the school calendar due to several pressing factors.
“The extreme heat experienced by teachers and students during the dry season, which is deemed not conducive to learning, and the students being unable to enjoy the school break because of the rainy season are the main reasons why we should change the opening of schools,” he said.
Singson also said that while it is difficult to predict the weather due to climate change, the former school calendar is what suits our country best.
There have been calls to bring back the April-May school summer break after more than 100 students in Cabuyao, Laguna were hospitalized due to hunger and dehydration because the heat index hovered between 39 to 42 degrees Celsius.
