DepEd’s Big Calendar Reset: 3-Term School Year Gets Green Light

A major change could be coming to Philippine classrooms next school year after the proposal to shift to a three-term school calendar got approval from the Department of Economy, Planning and Development. The plan was cleared during a council meeting chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., according to The Manila Times.

The idea is to reduce learning disruptions caused by typhoons, holidays, and other breaks that keep eating into class time. Instead of the current four grading periods, students would move under a three-term setup with longer and more stable instructional blocks.

Officials said the move also follows recommendations from EdCom 2, which has been pushing for a school calendar that better matches the country’s climate realities. DEPDev said the new setup could help students recover learning pace more consistently each term, while also giving teachers more room for professional development and catch-up work.

House Basic Education Committee chair Roman Romulo said he supports the shift if it truly protects classroom time, but he also urged DepEd to rethink the idea of holding catch-up classes during school breaks. For him, the point of the reform is to reduce overload, hindi dagdagan pa ang pagod ng teachers at students.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara had earlier said the longer and more flexible learning blocks would improve lesson pacing and lessen teachers’ administrative burden. Malacañang also wants faster rollout of the education budget, including new classrooms, books, and more than 65,000 teaching and non-teaching positions funded under the 2026 budget.

Source: https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/03/21/news/national/transition-to-3-term-school-calendar-approved/2304621