Marcos approves 3-term school calendar

[Lee]

Pic below reminded me of when I discovered that a few younger family members needed to be tutored on how to tell time without looking at their cell phones.

 

 

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved key education reforms, including the adoption of a three-term school calendar for public education institutions beginning academic year 2026-2027, Malacañang said.

Palace said the move would ensure uninterrupted learning and improve educational outcomes as the administration seeks to fill the country’s learning gap.

Marcos issued the directive following the recommendation of the Economic and Development (ED) Council during its eighth meeting, held March 19 in the Palace.

During the meeting, the president emphasized the need to fast-track approvals for priority government projects alongside key sectoral reforms, particularly in the education sector.

The shift from four grading periods or quarters to a three-term academic calendar aims to address the long-standing issue of compressed learning periods caused by class suspensions due to natural hazards and overlapping major events.

Under the plan, the current four-term structure will be streamlined into three terms, each with dedicated instructional and assessment periods.

The first term will have 54 instructional days and a 10-day assessment period, including a five-day opening block. The second term will include 55 instructional days and a 10-day assessment period, while the third term will have 61 instructional days and a shorter six-day assessment period.

Education officials said the approved structure is expected to benefit learners by providing longer, uninterrupted instructional days, reducing lesson fragmentation, allowing structured recovery periods, and improving the overall instructional pacing.

For teachers, the shift would remove one full grading cycle, introduce dedicated consolidation periods, embed up to 32 hours of professional development, and provide scheduled wellness intervals to reduce recurring workload pressures. (More time off for teachers apparently is the goal)

The Department of Education (DepEd) noted that the new academic calendar is targeted for implementation starting school year 2026-2027.

The new academic calendar still needed pilot testing. But consultations were conducted with educational institutions before its presentation.

Marcos underscored the importance of maintaining the mandated 180-day contact period for both teachers and students, even amid potential disruptions.

He likewise instructed the DepEd to ensure that the proposed shorter school structure adequately supports struggling learners, aligns with the current semestral system in Senior High School, and prepares schools nationwide for full implementation.

The approved reform is part of the administration’s efforts to ensure quality education, resilience, and continuity amid recurring disruptions.

Marcos approves 3-term school calendar

[scott h]

38 minutes ago, Lee said:

class suspensions due to natural hazards and overlapping major events.

But not due to Holidays and the like? 

It would be interesting of someone took the effort to calculate classroom closures due to weather as opposed to all the special days off.

[Mike J]

I fail to see how moving from quarters to trimesters will improve education?  Also what constitutes a total of 26 days 'assessment periods'?  Are these two days of testing followed by 7-8 days of marching, singing, synced dancing, badminton competition. etc.

Maybe I am being a bit jaded or pessimistic but I have lost all faith in the department of public education here.  

[Old55]

10 minutes ago, Mike J said:

I fail to see how moving from quarters to trimesters will improve education? 

For a population without critical thinking skills it would indicate a significant improvement demonstrating the Executive Branch cares about education.

Edited March 22 by Old55

[Mike J]

1 minute ago, Old55 said:

For a population without critical thinking skills it would indicate a significant improvement demonstrating the Executive Branch cares about education.

But this is the same administration that put Sara, with no education experience, in charge of schools. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scott h]

52 minutes ago, Mike J said:

I have lost all faith in the department of public education here.

You must not be as jaded as I. I have lost faith in ALL government institutions here 

[JJReyes]

Another announcement about a supposedly new program won't do anything to improve Philippine public education.  The government has to start at the very beginning.  Birth Control. 

[Possum]

Three semesters won't change a thing. The subject matter is at times mystifying. Example our fourth grader has exams coming up and in the language/English exam they have to identify types of lettering and lines used in technical drawings. In science the big subject is types of soil where knowing particle size of various soils is important. Geez

We use 2 online courses to supplement their lessons. One is based on the Singapore system and the other is based on a US system. I often cannot find any parallel lessons on either to coincide with some required Philippines lessons. These are just two examples. Why in the world doesn't this country model their education system after some place like Singapore which is consistently rated as one of the best in the world? The only reason I can fathom is they simply do not wish an educated population. Another scary thought is these marginally educated people end up running the country. 

 

[Tommy T.]

24 minutes ago, Possum said:

Another scary thought is these marginally educated people end up running the country.

They already do...