Updating Timeline

Past is past, not until it is better than the present and works well for the future.

The Department of Education (DepEd) is currently in the process of reverting the school
calendar to its former June-March schedule due to the multiple problems encountered while
following the August-July timeline.

It is not a secret how students and teachers are already struggling to function inside a
congested classroom; now, coupled with the extreme weather, their distress just got worse.

I remember going through my day at school, drenched in sweat while trying to contain my
dizziness because of the overbearing heat. There are also days when I can already foresee
the coming class suspension announcement due to the continuous rain; considering that we
live in Hagonoy, the land of the rising flood.

My story is nothing but a sentence in a story made by 26 million enrolled public school
students who are enduring these conditions in exchange for attaining free education—
something that should be given in a conducive environment.

However, even with the benefits that comes with the reversion of the school calendar,
DepEd cannot just launch it because it can compromise students’ learning and the amount
of vacation time they can receive.

Specifically, the teachers are all above overworked, decreasing their vacation days will just
add salt upon the open wound.

Surely, the June-March timeline will improve our learning environment but it will threaten the
quality of education that we can receive. Hence, the DepEd must ensure to fulfill its promise
and responsibility of prioritizing its stakeholders above all.

After the series of multiple questionable projects and memorandums, the DepEd must use
this chance as a way to redeem itself; otherwise, they would just be labeled as a department
who continuously failed its people.

Following the famous Filipino proverb, “ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi
makakarating sa paroroonan,” going back to our roots is never a bad idea when it is the best
choice for our success.