EDUCATION officials in the city are still mulling the conduct of Saturday classes in Baguio City.
The Baguio City Schools Division Office advised the Department of Education (DepEd) regional office it is not keen on implementing Saturday classes for public and private schools in the city.
This is due to the existing 10 buffer days per school year which would cover the days without classes due to inclement weather.
Dr. Federico Martin, Baguio City Schools superintendent, said they are still planning with the schools on what memorandum they should follow in terms of Saturday classes.
Based on existing DepEd policy, a school year covers 200 days per calendar year wherein students are mandated to attend 180 schools days while the remaining days are reserved for the suspension of classes.
“DepEd is mandated to comply with the Saturday make up classes to refrain from students and parents from being misled of their class schedules,” Martin explained.
In 2017, Education Secretary Leonor Briones explained public schools affected by the series of class suspensions are not required to hold makeup classes or add extra hours on school days if the required 180 days of nonnegotiable teacher-pupil contact time is still intact.
Makeup classes is only implemented once the required number of school days have been compromised – especially when there are suspension of classes either caused by inclement weather and other disasters.
Schools having less than 180 days in their school calendars are advised to conduct makeup classes usually conducted either on Saturdays or extending school hours on weekdays, if applicable.
Briones noted that asking the DepEd Central Office to decide on the schedule of makeup classes is not very practical as schools division superintendents (SDS) are given the authority to on Saturday makeup classes as they are the ones who can assess the situation in their areas better.
The DepEd Secretary noted that schools need not use Saturdays for makeup classes but recommends extending school hours on weekdays, or for learners to be given extra assignments or homework to catch up on missed lessons due to the lost school days.