The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday, March 24, defended its plan to implement a three-term school calendar beginning School Year 2026–2027, calling the reform a “strategic move” to improve instructional time and ensure learning continuity.
In a statement, DepEd said the policy stemmed from extensive consultations across various sectors in the education community.
“The policy is a result of exhaustive, multi-level consultations with teachers, school leaders, parents, learners, and representatives from both the public and private education sectors,” the agency said.
The department clarified that the transition will start in SY 2026–2027, with classes set to open in June. It emphasized that the new calendar aims to maximize classroom time while minimizing disruptions that affect student learning.
DepEd also highlighted the structured approach used in crafting the policy, which included a nationwide orientation cascade to gather feedback from the field.
“DepEd implemented a structured approach, including an orientation cascade from the Central Office down to the division levels, to ensure that field feedback was systematically gathered for policy development,” it explained.
The agency reiterated that the reform was shaped by comprehensive consultations and refined through systematic feedback collection, ensuring that inputs from teachers, school heads, parents, learners, and stakeholders from both public and private sectors were fully considered.