Synchronized school calendar beneficial to education system

The Senate committee on education, arts and culture is recommending the synchronization of the academic calendar for all schools, moving the opening of classes from the current June to sometime between August and September.

The measure, once approved, would be implemented starting school year 2018 - 2019, Sen. Francis Escudero, chairman of the committee, said.

Under Senate Bill 1432 authored by Escudero, the opening of classes in all public and private schools will be synchronized. Depending on what would be agreed upon later on, this would be either on the second Monday of August but not later than the second Monday of September.

The country’s current education system must adopt far-reaching reforms, such as the revision of its academic calendar, in order to ensure the development of the people’s knowledge and skills, Escudero said, stressing that Escudero said the synchronization of the academic calendar of all schools in the country will assist in the conduct of research between local and international universities.

It will also help increase student participation in exchange programs, which will be beneficial to the local education system.

“We are on the right course when we recognize the fundamental role education plays in our national development. Bold initiatives, however, must be undertaken in our education system if we are to compete and thrive with the countries all around the globe,” Escudero said.

“In the rankings of the educational institutions of the world, our top universities always lag behind our ASEAN counterparts. We, therefore, need to engage with the top educational institutions of the world in order to benefit from their experience and expertise and, hopefully, raise the standards of our education,” he added.

Moving the opening of classes to August or September will also allow the students from families relying on agriculture for a living to help out with the farming activities back home before going to school. —