Manila: The Senate on Tuesday looked into the Department of Education's (DepEd) proposal to shift the basic education calendar from quarterly to a three-term structure beginning School Year 2026-2027, amid concerns over declining literacy and student proficiency.
According to Philippines News Agency, Sen. Bam Aquino, chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, said the inquiry aims to assess whether the structural reform would help address learning gaps and improve proficiency outcomes. He cited the latest EDCOM II report showing that proficiency drops from 30.5 percent in Grade 3 to less than 1 percent by Grade 12, with only four out of every 1,000 senior high school graduates considered proficient.
'Sa bawat taon na naantala ang mga interbensyong ito, mayroong isang buong henerasyon na posibleng hindi makakamit ang oportunidad na iangat ang buhay nila at ng kanilang pamilya (For every year that these interventions are delayed, an entire generation may lose the opportunity to uplift their lives and those of their families),' Aquino said.
DepEd Learning Systems Bureau Assistant Secretary Jerome Buenviaje told the panel that the proposed rollout remains subject to consultation. 'The proposal [to implement] is [School Year] 2026-2027 but we are finishing the consultations. Kung ano po ang kalalabasan ng konsultasyon (Whatever the outcome of the consultations), we will have the decision,' Buenviaje said.
The proposed three-term model seeks to lengthen uninterrupted instructional time, reduce administrative pressure on teachers, and embed structured recovery blocks, while maintaining the current curriculum and total number of school days. Aquino said the review would determine readiness for implementation and whether the shift would support literacy recovery and overall learning continuity.
