PUBLIC schools will shift from four grading periods to three terms starting school year (SY) 2026-2027 after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the change last week upon the recommendation of his economic advisers.
Under the new structure, the school calendar’s total 201 days will be divided into three blocks: June to September, September to December, and January to March. Each term will have from 54 to 61 learning days, followed by an assessment or enrichment period.
“Education officials said the approved structure is expected to benefit learners by providing longer, uninterrupted instructional days, reducing lesson fragmentation, allowing structured recovery periods, and improving overall pacing of instruction,” the Presidential Communications Office said.
The calendar change is a first for DepEd, which had long implemented the four-quarter system. It also comes as schools nationwide continue to lose many days of the school year to disaster-related disruptions.
A study by Edcom 2 and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies found that 53 teaching days were lost in SY 2023-2024 because of typhoons, extreme heat, local holidays, and nonteaching tasks assigned to educators. This is equivalent to one quarter. Edcom 2 has separately flagged more than 150 legislated celebrations and observances that eat into classroom time each year.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara first proposed the shift on Feb. 13. After teachers’ groups and Sen. Bam Aquino, who chairs the Senate basic education committee, questioned the lack of consultation, DepEd said on Feb. 17 that no final decision had been made and that it was “conducting consultations.” A Senate hearing followed on March 3. The Economic and Development Council then approved the policy on March 19.
A gaggle of critics
True to form, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) lambasted the change and questioned the lack of consultation. ACT chairman Ruby Bernardo said the school calendar is not the source of the country’s education problems. Rather, she said, the problems are lack of classrooms and books and low teachers’ salaries.
The group called on the DepEd to stop implementation of the new system and hold genuine consultations with teachers’ unions. They said that no matter how we change the school calendar, if there aren’t enough classrooms, teachers, or facilities, and if many students remain hungry, the quality of education would still be poor.
The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition did not reject the change outright. They said the three-term system “may offer practical solutions” to lost school days, lessons left unfinished at year’s end, and the need for regular breaks for teachers’ well-being. They said this will reduce teacher fatigue and enhance the learning competencies of our students.
But the group said those potential gains depend on what happens this summer, when training for the trimester system begins. Would there be a comprehensive pilot testing and genuine consultations with teachers?
“This reform must be pursued with clear planning, sufficient support and the meaningful participation of those on the ground,” they said. “Above all, we emphasize that any reform must uphold and protect the rights, welfare and dignity of teachers.”
DepEd’s defense
For its part, DepEd said that “the shift from four quarters to three terms significantly streamlines grading cycles and reduces reporting peaks, easing administrative burden and allowing educators to concentrate on what matters most — effective instruction.”
They also claimed to have done “a rigorous, multistage consultation process” with students, teachers, school leaders, parents, the Senate, and the House of Representatives before deciding on the calendar shift. They added that changing the academic calendar is only one of the government’s plans for education.
They also addressed the analysis that changing the school calendar alone will not solve the many ills that plague the education sector. “Our complementary initiatives include accelerated classroom construction, expanded school-based feeding and strengthened nutrition programs, intensified literacy interventions, provision of textbooks for all learners, and a refined inter-agency policy on class suspensions,” they explained.
The training for teachers in preparation for the trimester will begin after Holy Week. Modules and other learning materials will also be prepared before classes begin, but no actual dates have yet been given.
In a hearing of the Senate basic education committee last March 3, University of the Philippines Diliman professor Lizamarie Olegario said that “a trimester shift, if poorly implemented, may introduce major disruptions across curriculum pacing, assessment schedules, materials, reporting systems and school operations.”
The DepEd will have only two months to prepare for the trimester system, which will open in June. Now, why does that sound like the tolling of the bells?
