Nanawagan ang Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines sa Department of Education (DepEd) na gawing 185 na lamang ang 200 hanggang 205 araw na pasok kada taon upang unti-unting maibalik umano ang school break sa buwan ng Abril at Mayo.
Sa pahayag ni ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua nitong Lunes, Abril 10, ang nasabing suhestion ay magbubunsod ng mas maagang pagtatapos ng school year nang dalawa hanggang tatlong linggo sa karaniwang iskedyul.
Kapag nangyari ito, maibabalik na umano ang school break sa Abril at Mayo pagkatapos ng limang taon.
“Class days have usually been set between 200 to 205 days in the past school years: to include 180 days of non-negotiable contact time; INSET and mid school break; and buffer days for class cancellations due to calamities and other unforeseen circumstances,” saad ni Quetua.
“Given the DepEd’s current policy to use distance learning modalities in the event of class cancellations, and the thrust to declutter the current curriculum to focus on the most essential competencies, we deem it possible to achieve the learning objectives in 185 class days per year,” dagdag niya.
Sinegundahan din ni Quetua sa nasabing pahayag ang panawagan ni ACT Party-list Rep. France Castro na ibalik sa Abril at Mayo ang bakasyon dahil sa init ng panahon sa mga panahong ito na hindi umano ligtas para sa mga estudyante at guro.
BASAHIN: ‘Dahil sa init ng panahon’: ACT Rep. Castro, nanawagang ibalik sa dati ang school calendar
“The April-May school break is what suits our country best as the hottest months of the year are not conducive to learning, especially with our inadequate, cramped and non-airconditioned classrooms,” pagbibigay-diin ni Quetua.
“These are also the peak months for agricultural harvest, which we know that majority of our learners in the rural areas participate in. As such, we must work towards reverting the school calendar to the pre-pandemic schedule.”
Saad pa ni Quetua, ang kanilang iminungkahing iskedyul ay magbibigay ng dalawang buwang school break para sa mga guro at mag-aaral, na mas pinaikli umano noong mga nakaraang school year at nag-alis sa mga guro ng kanilang karapatan na magkaroon ng sapat na pahinga at oras para makabawi mula sa nakakapagod na trabaho sa loob ng higit sa sampung sunod na buwan nang man lamang umanong sick leave o vacation leave benefits.
“We hope that the DepEd will consider our proposal and act quickly on the matter. We cannot afford to stick to the current schedule that we have right now as it is affecting the health and welfare of our teachers and learners, consequently impacting negatively as well to learning outcomes,” ani Quetua.