The Department of Education (DepEd) is eyeing to reduce the number of classroom days and instead, hold make-up classes on certain Saturdays in the School Year 2024-2025.
During a House briefing on Monday, DepEd Director Leila Areola said the SY 2024-2025 is expected to begin on July 29 and end on March 31, 2025 — making it only 163 days for this academic year.
"We will be reducing the school days to something like 163. We are considering the conduct of Saturday classes, most likely, but it is not going to be every Saturday," she said.
To achieve the 180 school days per school year, Saturday classes may be held. However, Areola said they would consult teachers, parents, and learners.
"There will just be certain Saturdays when we need to conduct distance learning so that we will be able to cover the competencies that might not be covered with reduction of the [school days]," she stressed.
In the same briefing, Areola reiterated DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas previous statement that the DepEd is committed to implementing initial steps in transitioning to the old school calendar within this year.
"[Under our proposal] for the school year 2024 to 2025, we are going to start the school year by July 29, 2024. So we are considering March 31 [2025] as the end of the school year. The following school year, 2025 to 2026, we will be starting school by June," Areola said.
Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel then asked Areola when the proposal would be decided on, to which the DepEd official replied that consultations would be completed within May.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier expressed hopes to have the old school calendar back by SY 2024-2025.
