Solons oppose shortening of school week

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Two lawmakers opposed Thursday the Department of Education’s proposed three-day school week on the ground that it could compromise quality education.

Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian said the plan to alter the regular Monday to Friday school days would greatly affect the children’s learning capacity as they would be forced to wake up early for their 6 a.m. class and may not be able to absorb as much information.

The teachers, on the other hand, would be forced to compress their lessons because of limited time in the two proposed schedules, he said.

Under the three-day system plan, classes will be held from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on two sets: one on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; the other on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

In proposing to shorten the school week, the DepEd-National Capital Region argued that a number of public schools are expected to be congested when classes start on June 2.

It said that out of the 865 public schools in Metro Manila, 743 have already implemented double shifting despite the construction of additional school buildings.

The DepEd set the ideal class size for elementary and high school at 35 and 45, respectively. Under the double-shift plan, classes will be held from 6 a.m. to noon and from noon to 6 p.m.

Reports said that based on consultations, parents actually prefer this scheme.

Gatchalian said the proposal had bad timing, coming as it did during the implementation of the K to 12 education system, which was designed to equip students with the right knowledge and skills so they will be ready and globally competitive.

“The three-day or double-shift schemes will affect the quality of education and the students’ capacity to absorb information, and in turn, the competitiveness of our workforce,” Gatchalian said.

“The three-day school week, for one, will leave students exhausted. Our children will have to toil for 12 hours, even longer than the normal eight hours of work for adults. It will ultimately affect their productivity in school,” he said.

The 6 p.m. dismissal time in both schemes also poses an issue in children’s safety, he said.

For her part, Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela partylist group, said the DepEd’s proposal was proof of the government’s ineptitude and utter abandonment of its obligation to ensure basic education for children.

“Band aid solutions like the K-12 curriculum, the GASTPE (Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education) and the reduction of school hours and school days will only make the education crisis worse,” said Ilagan.

During last week’s World Economic Forum, President Aquino announced that by the end of 2013, the backlog in classroom construction had been addressed and that 66,813 classrooms had been built.

“Where are these classrooms and why are 70 students still cramped in classrooms built for 30 to 40 students?” Ilagan asked.

“Year after year we are plagued by these shortages in classrooms, teachers and textbooks. Clearly, the Aquino government has miserably failed to appropriate sufficient funds to adequately address these shortages,” she said.

RELATED STORY

DepEd: 3-day class week mulled for crowded schools