DepEd chief: Makeup classes to proceed

MANILA, Philippines — Makeup classes will push through despite opposition from teachers’ groups, in an effort to mitigate learning loss following widespread class suspensions caused by flooding due to tropical cyclones and the southwest monsoon.

“We really plan to have makeup classes because if we don’t do that, it will affect our kids,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara said yesterday during the launch of the Quality Basic Education Development Plan (QBEDP) 2025-2035.

Angara noted that the implementation of makeup classes will be left to the schools’ discretion.

“We can have extra time on weekdays. We can also do it on Saturdays. We also look at the schedule of our teachers because we want our teachers to rest,” he added.

Alliance of Concerned Teachers chairman Vladimer Quetua said earlier it is too early for DepEd to call for makeup classes, noting that the department can still utilize buffer days allotted in the school calendar.

Quetua acknowledged Angara’s concern over learning loss but stressed that the academic calendar was designed with buffer days to accommodate such disruptions.

Teachers’ Dignity Coalition chairman and Caloocan City teacher Benjo Basas also expressed concern over the plan, particularly the proposal to hold Saturday classes. He warned that such measures may violate existing policies and cause additional stress to both students and teachers during calamities.

Basas said the proposed Saturday classes contradict DepEd’s long-standing advocacy for work-life balance. He also cited the department’s guidelines, which allow makeup classes only when the mandated 180 non-negotiable school days are compromised.

Classes in Metro Manila and several provinces were suspended for at least a week last week due to the combined impact of tropical cyclones Crising, Dante, Emong and the southwest monsoon.

Quality education plan

Angara and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian led yesterday the launch of the 10-year QBEDP to tackle the country’s learning crisis.

Angara said the QBEDP, to be implemented from this year until 2035, is part of the DepEd’s five-point reform agenda under the Basic Education Development Plan adopted in 2022.

“It’s not a political plan. It’s a long-term plan for the future of our young people because within the next 10 years, Grade 1 students will go to Grade 11 or Grade 12 so they’ll spend most of their lives in school,” he said in a chance interview.

The United Nations Children’s Fund has warned of a “real and widespread learning crisis” in the Philippines, revealing that a vast majority of students are falling significantly behind in reading and mathematics.

Angara expressed confidence that the Philippines will improve its ranking in th for International Student Assessment (PISA) amid ongoing reforms.