MANILA – The Department of Education (DepEd) announced plans on Wednesday to mitigate learning loss by shortening the upcoming 2024-2025 school year to 165 days. This adjustment follows President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s approval to revert to the traditional school calendar.
According to Philippines News Agency, DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas during the "Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon" public briefing, the department has proposed a more dynamic approach to cover all required educational competencies within the reduced number of school days. "We will intensify our measures to ensure that all competencies for given grade levels are covered in a shorter period of time," Bringas explained. Under the new schedule, the current academic year will conclude on May 31, with the next school year starting on July 29 and ending on March 31, 2025. Subsequently, the 2025-2026 school year is set to commence in June 2025.
Bringas emphasized the necessity of adopting innovative and meaningful educational strategies to compensate for the reduced days. These strategies will be detailed once the DepEd finalizes the adjustments to the curriculum and teaching methods. Changes will also be made to the MATATAG curriculum, which is set to be implemented initially in Kinder, and Grades I, IV, and VII in the coming school year.
The MATATAG curriculum, an acronym standing for a series of educational goals including making the curriculum relevant for job readiness, accelerating education service delivery, enhancing learner well-being, and supporting teachers, will see different levels of interventions compared to the traditional curriculum. "Interventions may be lesser for the MATATAG curriculum, but we will have more measures with the old curriculum," said Bringas.
This educational reform is part of DepEd's ongoing efforts to adapt to changes in the academic calendar and enhance the quality and effectiveness of education in the Philippines.