Lawmaker calls for shift to old academic calendar

This file photo shows students attending a flag raising ceremony before singing the national anthem at a public school in Quezon City. (AFP FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — The government should start considering shifting the academic calendar as students attending classes in May means they are forced to endure the intense dry season heat, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party-list Rep. France Castro said.

In her privilege speech during Monday’s House of Representatives session, Castro sounded the alarm on the rising cases of heat-induced ailments which has affected a lot of blue collar workers — which prompted her to reiterate the proposal for a change in the academic schedule.

“Ibang-iba ang init ang nararanasan natin ngayon sa Pilipinas. Marami ang hina-highblood, nahihimatay at nagkakasakit dahil sa init ng panahon […] Ganito ang nararanasan ng mga estudyante, mga guro, mga contruction worker, mga manggagawa sa pabrika, mga drayber at mga commuter,” she said.

(The heat we are experiencing in the Philippines nowadays is  something else.  A lot of people are having high blood pressure, many faint and get sick because of the heat.  This is what students, teachers, construction workers, factory workers, and drivers and commuters experience.)

“Kung kaya naman, paalala natin sa ating mga kababayan, uminom ng maraming tubig at stay at home kung maaari. Kami nga sa ACT Teachers Party-List at Alliance of Concerned Teachers, pinapanawagan na ibalik sa academic calendar sa dati dahil kawawang-kawawa ang mga bata at guro na nagtitiis sa mainit na klasrum,” she added.

(That’s why we remind fellow Filipinos stay hydrated.  We in the ACT Teachers Party-List call for the return of the original academic calendar, we pity the teachers and students who have to stay in hot classrooms.)

As early as March 31, Castro already called for the shift in the academic calendar considering that a lot of teachers have complained about the intolerable heat inside their classrooms.

An ACT survey last March showed that 67 percent of teachers complained that the heat was becoming unbearable.

School year schedules were altered after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, which forced schools to suspend classes as early as March 2020. 

Classes resumed around October 2020, with some schools opting to start distance learning by August of the same year.

Since then, schools have adopted the August to May academic calendar.

Last month, the Department of Education said it is studying proposals to revert to the old school calendar — from June to March — due to numerous complaints from students and parents.

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