Effectively reverting the country to the old academic calendar.
In its order dated April 15, the Department of Education (DepEd) has set the start of the forthcoming school year 2025-2026.
As per DepEd Order No. 12, s. 2025, the next academic year shall commence on June 16, 2025 and last until March 31, 2026.
The said year for all public institutions from pre-school to senior high shall consist of 197 school days, inclusive of end-of-school-year (EOSY) rites like recognition, moving-up, and graduation ceremonies.
Concerning the annual community-driven clean-up and maintenance activities, Brigada Eskwela, it shall take place from June 9 to 13.
Meanwhile, private schools, state universities, and Philippine schools overseas may also begin their academic year from early June, but no later than the last day of August —which is in accordance to the Republic Act 7797 or the Act to Lengthem the School Calendar and its amending law, Republic Act 11480.
The previous school calendar, which saw classes start in August, became a fixture after the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns in 2020 forced schools to shut down and move to online learning.
Due to the transition, the government then opted to transfer the opening of schools from June to August, before settling with October for the School Year 2020-21.
Starting with SY 2021-22, the Philippines moved to the August opening date for public elementary and high schools, in line with the start of classes of the higher education sector.
Although, in recent years, as the country went back to the full implementation of in-person classes, problems arose especially during the dry months of April and May.
Due to inadequate ventilation and crowded classrooms in some areas, incidents of students fainting, among other concerns, have begun to be reported.
In March 2023, for example, a single incident during a fire drill in Cabuyao, Laguna caused 83 students to be hospitalized due to heat exhaustion, leading to the cancelation of classes.
DepEd, at that time, allowed face-to-face classes to be suspended due to extreme heat, and permitted the use of distance-learning tools whenever necessary.
In response, the calendar was remade by the department, with SY 2024-25 shortened to accommodate the move back to the June-March timeline by the next academic year.