SY opening in June supported

BACOLOD CITY: Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he is supporting the Department of Education’s (DepEd) plan to gradually return the previous practice of starting the school year (SY) in the month of June.

DepEd is likely to bring back the old practice after receiving complaints about the difficulty of holding classes during the summer months of April and May.

Lacson said that during summer months, the students are inside classrooms which are not well-ventilated or air-conditioned, giving them a hard time coping with the hot weather.

“Public school classrooms do not have air-conditioning, so it is difficult,” Lacson pointed out.

Then, the students, he added, can’t enjoy nor unwind and relax during their school break which happens during the rainy season.

DepEd Director 4 Leila Areola, during a hearing of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture, said they had already drafted an amendment to Department

Order 22, series of 2023 to allow schools nationwide to ease back into the old June to March academic calendar, possibly by school year 2025 to 2026.

Ian Arnold Arnaiz, public information officer for the DepEd schools’ division in Negros Occidental, cited the high temperatures that arise during the summer season as one of the reasons why the proposal to return to the June opening is being pushed.

It can be recalled that last year, several students suffered various heat-related illnesses such as nosebleeding or epistaxis due to the high temperatures inside classrooms.

The high temperatures are also causing a drop in performance among students who are unable to focus on their studies.

Following last year’s incidents, a large majority of the parents and even some teachers proposed a return to a June class opening when weather conditions and temperatures are far more suitable.