I agree with the decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to start classes on July 29 and end on April 15 for the Department of Education’s new school calendar.
I also propose that the enrollment period be from July 1 to 22 so that parents, students, and teachers will have enough time to get ready or prepare for the start of classes.
It would be advisable to avoid the practice to conduct enrollment while classes are ongoing. The enrollment period should be done before the start of classes contrary to the practice of conducting enrollment while classes are ongoing.
The three-week enrollment period I am suggesting will give parents and guardians time to make preparations for the things their children will need for school. July 1 is right after the June 30 payday, while the next payday on July 15 is also within the enrollment period.
The three-week enrollment is ample time for the teachers to assign students to their respective sections, orientation of the parents, PTA matters, Brigada Eskwela, distribute the textbooks their students will use, conduct health checkups of students and do remedial sessions.
The schools can conduct their on-campus learning camps and other activities to gauge the learning capacities of their students. The schools will also have time to meet with their teachers and stakeholders and coordinate with school principals. Three weeks of adjustment will be time for students, especially the new students and transferees, to make new friends, get to know their teachers, familiarize themselves with the campus and choose clubs, among others.
The change of the start of classes would also be an opportune time for the government and stakeholders to study, formulate plans and hopefully, execute solutions to avoid the effects that caused the changes, extreme weather conditions such as heat, flooding and its other adverse effects.
The necessary infrastructures that allow the access of our students to education should be in place in order to allow unhampered learning. Hence, the continuous improvement of our school buildings, paved roads leading to schools, sufficient shade, and other means that would provide a safe and effective learning environment would be paramount. These conditions would maximize the effectiveness of the stakeholders’ time and resources when given the three-week enrollment adjustment time.