Palace backs consultations on trimestral system in public schools

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has backed the call of some lawmakers and groups for the Department of Education (DepEd) to conduct extensive consultations regarding the the proposal to shift to a trimestral system starting next school year.

“It will be better if this will be discussed by all stakeholders and interested parties in order to achieve a better program for our students,” Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said on Monday.

“It would be better if more studies will be conducted to determine if this will be implemented,” she added.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara last week presented a proposal to reduce the current four-grading period in a school year to just three.

According to Angara, it will allow for “longer and more flexible instructional periods, reducing teacher workload, and promoting higher-quality instruction through improved organization of the academic year.”

The proposed trimester calendar is being considered for implementation starting School Year 2026-2027 in public schools.

It will consist of 201 school days distributed across the three terms.

Classes will open in early June, according to Angara, with the first trimester running from June to September and followed by the second trimester from September to December. The third trimester will be from January until late March.

READ: DepEd chief pushes trimestral system for public schools

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers – Philippines expressed doubt on the proposal, saying it does not address the long-standing problems of the country’s educational crisis.

The group said the proposal lacked a clear and transparent basis.

It questioned whether there are concrete studies supporting the shift, what the findings of these studies are, and why there was no extensive consultation with rank-and-file teachers, recognized unions, and other education workers before the policy was announced.

Senator Bam Aquino, chairperson of the Senate committee on basic education, called for an inquiry into the proposal, warning against the rushed implementation of such a policy.

“We will make sure there will be a Senate hearing about this reform, to probe into it and discuss it,” he said.

“Before the DepEd implements the trimestral system, it is important that it will be subjected to broad consultation,” he added. /gsg