From Manila Bulletin online, August 2, 2011, 4:35am
The Philippines use the solar Gregorian calendar. So this issue of class opening in June and September. Muslims in the Philippines follow this for daily non-religious matters and that of the lunar Hijrah calendar for religious functions.
The question about school opening is deeper than just moving from one month to another. The same is true with class opening for Madaris.
_______________________________________________
MANILA, Philippines — Responding to the call of some sectors to move the June school opening to September, the Department of Education reiterates that it is open to any proposal that will help improve the learning conditions of students and that it continues to look thoroughly into the advantages and disadvantages should school opening be moved to September.
“The very aim of the department is to provide quality education to all our students. As much as possible, we do not want any disruption that will affect our students’ learning. Thus, we are open to any proposal that will help us achieve our goal. But whether or not to move the opening of classes to September, one of the major considerations should be the comfort of our schoolchildren while they are in school,” said Education Secretary Armin Luistro.
Luistro shared that the proposal to move the opening of classes to September has been studied in 2009.
In a survey conducted by the department between August to September 2009, 13 of 16 regions are not in favor of moving classes to September. Only Region III (Central Luzon) with 54 percent, Region VI (Western Visayas) with 68 percent, and Region IX (Western Mindanao) with 51 percent were in favor.
Of the respondents, 66 percent were against the move while 34% were in favor.
The study revealed that those who opposed said that the high temperature during summer months (April to May) will not be conducive to students’ learning during these months, classrooms will need additional ventilation which in turn will increase the schools’ electricity bills.
Not saying no
“We are not saying no to the proposal but we recommend that the current weather conditions and the effects of climate change as well as the frequency of typhoons hitting specific parts of the country be considered when we talk of moving the school opening to September,” Luistro expressed.
DepEd cited that during typhoons, floods, and other calamities, only some parts of the country are affected and only involve a number of schools and a small part of the entire student population nationwide.
On the contrary, during summer season, the entire country experiences the discomfort hot temperature brings. And this is what the students in the public schools will have to endure for more than two months.
Other reasons cited for not favoring the proposal include the usual practice where summer months are spent for family bonding and other activities such as traditional celebrations like Holy Week, town fiestas, and Flores de Mayo. These celebrations held during summer would affect the attendance of children in school.
Also, students usually work during summer for extra income for their school expenses.
Of 197 school divisions, 145 or 74 percent participated in the survey. The respondents came from schools in divisions nationwide and included teachers, parents, local government officials and other stakeholders.
Luistro said that DepEd has been exploring various means to still allow affected students catch up with their lessons.“Right now, we have alternative delivery modes that allow us to continue holding classes even if classrooms are used as evacuation centers. Our school heads and field officials also employ several strategies such as holding of make-up classes to ensure continuity of learning.”
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/329216/june-or-september
The Philippines use the solar Gregorian calendar. So this issue of class opening in June and September. Muslims in the Philippines follow this for daily non-religious matters and that of the lunar Hijrah calendar for religious functions.
The question about school opening is deeper than just moving from one month to another. The same is true with class opening for Madaris.
_______________________________________________
MANILA, Philippines — Responding to the call of some sectors to move the June school opening to September, the Department of Education reiterates that it is open to any proposal that will help improve the learning conditions of students and that it continues to look thoroughly into the advantages and disadvantages should school opening be moved to September.
“The very aim of the department is to provide quality education to all our students. As much as possible, we do not want any disruption that will affect our students’ learning. Thus, we are open to any proposal that will help us achieve our goal. But whether or not to move the opening of classes to September, one of the major considerations should be the comfort of our schoolchildren while they are in school,” said Education Secretary Armin Luistro.
Luistro shared that the proposal to move the opening of classes to September has been studied in 2009.
In a survey conducted by the department between August to September 2009, 13 of 16 regions are not in favor of moving classes to September. Only Region III (Central Luzon) with 54 percent, Region VI (Western Visayas) with 68 percent, and Region IX (Western Mindanao) with 51 percent were in favor.
Of the respondents, 66 percent were against the move while 34% were in favor.
The study revealed that those who opposed said that the high temperature during summer months (April to May) will not be conducive to students’ learning during these months, classrooms will need additional ventilation which in turn will increase the schools’ electricity bills.
Not saying no
“We are not saying no to the proposal but we recommend that the current weather conditions and the effects of climate change as well as the frequency of typhoons hitting specific parts of the country be considered when we talk of moving the school opening to September,” Luistro expressed.
DepEd cited that during typhoons, floods, and other calamities, only some parts of the country are affected and only involve a number of schools and a small part of the entire student population nationwide.
On the contrary, during summer season, the entire country experiences the discomfort hot temperature brings. And this is what the students in the public schools will have to endure for more than two months.
Other reasons cited for not favoring the proposal include the usual practice where summer months are spent for family bonding and other activities such as traditional celebrations like Holy Week, town fiestas, and Flores de Mayo. These celebrations held during summer would affect the attendance of children in school.
Also, students usually work during summer for extra income for their school expenses.
Of 197 school divisions, 145 or 74 percent participated in the survey. The respondents came from schools in divisions nationwide and included teachers, parents, local government officials and other stakeholders.
Luistro said that DepEd has been exploring various means to still allow affected students catch up with their lessons.“Right now, we have alternative delivery modes that allow us to continue holding classes even if classrooms are used as evacuation centers. Our school heads and field officials also employ several strategies such as holding of make-up classes to ensure continuity of learning.”
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/329216/june-or-september
