In response to public concerns on the schedule of classes, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday approved to start reverting the country’s school calendar to the traditional arrangement.
BACK TO THE OLD SCHOOL CALENDAR Students queue up at the Araullo High School in Ermita, Manila on Wednesday (May 22, 2024). President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the return to the old school calendar, with the opening of classes for School Year 2024-2025 set for July 29 this year and the close on April 15, 2025. PNA
Thus, the opening of classes for school year 2024-2025 will begin on July 29 this year and end on April 15, 2025.This will start the gradual return of the school year to June of every year until the end of March the next year.
The chief executive met with Vice President Sara Duterte at Malacañang Palace to discuss the two options for the implementation of the School Year (SY) 2024-2025 calendar in light of the shift to the old June to March school calendar.
In a sectoral meeting with Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, President Marcos told the Department of Education (DepEd) to start the return of the standard school calendar days starting SY 2024 to 2025.
The Vice President presented two options to the President for the school calendar shift. The first option consisted of 182 school days with 15 in-person Saturday classes while the second option was to have 167 school days with no in-person Saturday classes.
Both options will end the SY on March 31, 2025But the President said the 167-day school calendar is “too short” as such an arrangement will significantly reduce the number of school days and contact time that may compromise learning outcomes.He also did not want students to be going to school on Saturdays to complete the 182-day school calendar because it would jeopardize their well-being and demand more resources.
As a compromise, he said instead of ending on March 31, 2025, DepEd should adjust the SY to end on April 15, 2025, to enable students to complete 182 days without using Saturdays to go to school.
“Habaan lang natin ‘yung school days. Para matagal, dagdagan na lang natin ‘yung school days basta huwag natin gagalawin ‘yung Saturday. So, school day will remain the same. Standard lang,” President Marcos told Vice President Duterte during the meeting.
Duterte said they already consulted with teachers, school officials, and parents as far as the proposed school calendar is concerned. More SUCs producing medical professionals More state universities and colleges (SUCs) are producing medical professionals during the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. compared to the previous administration, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said on Wednesday.
The Department of Health (DOH) presented during Wednesday’s sectoral meeting with President Marcos the department’s National Human Resources Master Plan 2020-2040.
This includes the proposed national workforce support system that aims to address the gap in human resources for health in line with the Philippines’ commitment to meet the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDG).“May mga good news in the meeting. The CHED (Commission on Higher Education) described that under this administration, there are now 20 state universities and colleges that are graduating medical students,” Herbosa said during a press briefing in Malacañang.
During the sectoral briefing, CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera told the President that there are now around 3,000 doctors to the barrio program from the previous 900.“So, malaking improvement iyon from the previous eight in the past administration. And then, we are also increasing our output of skills through TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority),” he said.
According to the health chief, among those presented to the President is the need for human resources after the DOH identified gaps in the health sector.
He said about 190,000 personnel are needed to fill in the gaps of the Philippine health care system, considering the medical professionals leaving for overseas employment and those graduating from medical and nursing schools.
On the government’s thrust to hire healthcare associates, or nursing graduates who haven’t passed the board examination, Herbosa said the program has been continuing with the help of the private sector.
“So, tuluy-tuloy na iyong programa na iyan because most of them have gotten scholarship through the private sector – iyong members ng PSAC, Private Sector Advisory Council for Health. And may mga nakapasa na actually eh,” he told reporters.“So, may mga na-enroll na diyan, may nakapasa na and some of them I think 140 plus and they’re now hired as nurses kasi pasado na.” PND
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