The House of Representatives supports the return of the old academic calendar following the cancellation of face-to-face classes over extreme heat, a congressman said on Thursday.
In a Bagong Pilipinas briefing, Pasig City Rep. and House Committee on Basic Education and Culture Chairperson Roman Romulo said Congress agrees on the proposed reverting to the previous academic calendar as the “continuity of learning” is affected.
The lawmaker added he is hopeful the government would implement the proposed changes in the academic calendar, citing the recent discussion with the Department of Education (DepEd) earlier this week.
“So last Monday, we called DepEd to find out if there are any new developments. When they arrived, they said they submitted some alternatives to Malacañang, including the proposal to shorten the return to the old academic calendar,” Romulo said in a mix of English and Filipino.
In their dialogue with DepEd, Romulo said the new proposal would set academic year 2024-2025 as the last school year before returning to its previous schedule.
DepEd recently said it submitted a proposal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to adjust the academic calendar back to its former schedule. This would mean classes will return to June until March, with the students’ vacation taking place during April and May.