Teachers’ groups on Friday criticized the preparedness and implementation of the trimester plan for the varsity yr (SY) 2026-2027, following its approval from the Economy and Development (ED) Council.
“It was already mentioned that this needed consultations, but in the long run, it was still approved unexpectedly,” Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Chairperson Ruby Bernardo said in Filipino in a press release on Friday.
“The responsibility of patching together a policy that lacks preparation shouldn’t be passed down again to those on the grounds,” she added.
The ED Council, during its eighth meeting chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., has approved the three-term school calendar of the Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday.
This policy is seen as a “critical step towards improving the country’s education outcomes”, based on the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev).
“Our commitment to developing a globally competitive workforce begins with providing evidence-based solutions to bridge educational gaps in our country,” said DEPDev Secretary and ED Council Vice-Chair Arsenio M. Balisacan in a press release.
“We commend DepEd (Department of Education) for repeatedly pursuing initiatives that support critical development priorities,” he added.
DEPDev noted that the policy pushes for learning continuity, mitigating class disruptions brought on by natural calamities, celebrations, and observances.
Data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) revealed that 53 teaching days were lost in SY 2023-2024 on account of calamities, holidays, non-teaching tasks, and activities.
“By shifting from a four-grading-period system to a three-grading-period system, students will profit from longer, uninterrupted instructional blocks, stabilizing their learning pace and recovery each term,” DEPDev said in a press release.
Nonetheless, ACT called the choice a “rushed top-down reform”.
The group urged the DepEd to halt its implementation and conduct real consultations with teachers’ unions and education stakeholders.
The brand new policy was also in comparison with the K to 12, underscoring the shortage of preparedness during its implementation.
“It’s going to surely fail, and people of us in the colleges will likely be left to improvise and make up for all of the shortcomings,” Ms. Bernardo said. “And when it fails, we will likely be those to be blamed again.”
For its part, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) underscored that pilot testing have to be conducted before the nationwide rollout of the brand new school calendar.
“We’re hopeful that there will likely be deeper and broader discussions with the stakeholders,” TDC National Chairperson Benjo G. Basas said in Filipino in a video statement on Friday.
“We hope that before they implement it, there will likely be a pilot in a single region, as we want to calibrate many facets, including forms and material,” he added.
Under the proposed trimester system, the varsity yr will likely be divided into three terms. Each term consists of a gap block, the academic block, and the enrichment block.
The opening block, or the primary week of classes in the primary term, will concentrate on orientation and assessments.
Each term can have an instructional block that lasts 54 to 61 days, followed by a two-week enrichment block for remediation and enrichment, grades computation, checking, and preparation of college forms, and a wellness break.
The primary term will run from June to September, the second from September to December, and the third from January to March. — Almira Louise S. Martinez