DepEd may move class opening from June to September
By Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star) Updated September 20, 2011
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) is studying the possibility of moving the opening of classes from June to September to reduce the disruption of classes due to bad weather during rainy season in the country.
Education Secretary Armin Luistro said during the Senate public hearing on DepEd’s proposed 2012 budget that there are now internal discussions about the proposals to move the school opening to September.
Consultations were conducted several months ago and the agency is now gathering data to be used for its evaluation.
He said that the DepEd has asked the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and the regional offices of the education department for data on the amount of rainfall and the resulting suspension of classes over the past 10 years.
The proposal to move the opening of classes from June to September came up during the Senate hearing after committee on finance chairman Franklin Drilon and vice chairman Edgardo Angara directed Luistro to finally take a serious look into the proposals, which have been broached time and again.
Drilon said that moving the classes to September could lessen the disruption of classes due to bad weather.
He pointed out that the suspension of classes due to bad weather is compounded by the use of public school buildings as evacuation centers after the storms, resulting in even more suspension of classes.
“This is not a new issue, this has been an issue ever since. There are more school suspensions in the second half of the year as compared to the first half. That is quite obvious,” Drilon said.
Luistro noted that the DepEd has already collected data from 54 percent of its school divisions across the country.
“The initial trend is that the least destruction over