By John Victor D. Ordoñez and Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporters
PHILIPPINE education officials on Tuesday said they have endorsed to the President a plan to end the school year by March 2025 to allow for an April-May school break amid calls to adjust the school calendar due to extreme heat.
“In response to the recent clamor for a more immediate reversion to the April-May school break, the department has already submitted a letter to the Office of the President presenting other options including a more aggressive alternative of ending school year 2024-2025 in March 2025,” Education Assistant Secretary Francis Cesar B. Bringas told a Senate basic education committee hearing.
The Education department in February ordered the start of the 2024-2025 school year on July 29. It is supposed to end on May 16, 2025.
Mr. Bringas said the endorsement was not due to “climate or weather considerations” since schools can already shift to online learning in times of extreme weather.
“The gradual reversion to the April-May school break was based on the preference of the general public as reflected in the surveys on the matter, and second, the significant economic impact of summer breaks as a tourism drive for local destinations in the country,” he added.
He asked the Senate body to give President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. time to study the proposal.
Philippine Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri on Monday urged education officials to return to a June to March academic calendar instead of August amid record heat levels.
The state weather bureau on Monday said Dagupan City in Pangasinan was expected to experience temperatures of as hot as 47°C in the next two days. Pasay City in Metro Manila was expected to post a heat index of 43-44°C.
Iba, Zambales in northern Philippines posted the highest temperature of 53°C on April 28 after four straight days of registering a heat index of 42-43°C.
DepEd suspended face-to-face classes in all public schools nationwide on April 29 and 30.
Mr. Bringas noted that if the suggestion to change the school calendar is adopted, students would have fewer days of face-to-face classes but more schoolwork.
He added that the “aggressive approach” to fast-track ending the school year by March next year would mean Saturday school work for teachers and students.
“We should also learn from this and look at some short-term solutions,” Mr. Gatchalian said. “What are our schools doing in order to adjust to this condition? What are our medium-term and long-term solutions in order to adapt to this new normal of climate change?”
Meanwhile, 131 local governments have declared a state of calamity due to El Niño, with dozens of localities experiencing drought, Presidential Communications Office Assistant Secretary Joey Villarama told reporters.
At least 41 areas were experiencing drought, said the official, who serves as the spokesman of Task Force El Niño.
Damage to agriculture has hit P4.39 billion covering 77,731 hectares of land, 77% of which were recoverable, he said.
The government expects the climate pattern to normalize by the end of May, he added.
“The Philippines is in the grip of a severe El Niño, with its impacts aggravated by the climate crisis,” Greenpeace Philippines campaigner Khevin Yu said in a statement. “Temperatures and heat indices across the country have hit record highs in the past week, affecting farmers, students and senior citizens, among many others who are already the most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis.”
“We call on our government to ensure measures that will mitigate the impacts of El Niño on our water supply, food production and power generation,” he added.
Greenpeace sought a shift to a farm system that is more environment-friendly and climate-resilient. “This is to ensure food and nutrition security, at the same time, uplift the lives of Filipino farmers, especially as we continue to fend off the effects of El Niño and prepare for La Niña.”
It also sought improved investments in ecological agriculture so that farmers can become self-sufficient and more capable in responding to a crisis.
“We need to further accelerate the transition towards the use of renewable energy that drastically reduces the use of water for power generation for future occurrence of El Niño,” Greenpeace said.