MANILA, Philippines – Despite the concerns of several lawmakers, the Department of Education (DepEd) will stick to the current school calendar as weather patterns affect different parts of the country at different times.
“Obviously, we cannot have a different start of the school year recognizing that the country may have different ways of experiencing the weather,” Education Secretary Armin Luistro said during a Senate education committee hearing on Tuesday, August 14.
If the opening of classes were to be moved to September, as some legislators have suggested, the National Capital Region would benefit but “the other side would start in the middle of rainy season,” he added.
“It looks like there is very little additional advantage if we look at things nationwide,” Luistro said.
Earlier in the same hearing, an official from weather bureau PAGASA noted that based on historical data, the climate types in the eastern and western parts of the Philippines are different.
Thus the rainy season in the country’s western section — which includes the NCR and most of western and northern Luzon — peaks from May to September, said Flaviana Hilario, PAGASA’s acting deputy administrator for research and development.
Hilario explained that monsoon rainshowers affect the eastern section — Aurora, Bicol and Eastern Visayas — mainly from October to January.
The DepEd chief also cited concerns from stakeholders that school attendance during the summer months may prevent students from taking part in cultural traditions like festivals held at the time.
“And, of course, the (high) temperatures during the summer months will be difficult,” Luistro said.
In the Philippines, the school calendar starts in June, when weather disturbances associated with the monsoon rains start to hit the country.
As a result, classes must be often be suspended, many times with only a few hours notice or even on the same day a storm hits a particular area.
Senator Franklin Drilon and other lawmakers had proposed that the opening of classes be moved to September to ensure the safety of students and lessen class disruptions. – Rappler.com
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