The road back to June was not instantaneous. When COVID-19 struck in 2020, public schools adjusted by pushing school openings deeper into the calendar, eventually landing on an August-to-May instructional year. While aligned with regional universities, the structure proved punishing for basic education.
Philippine public school classrooms, often housing 40 to 50 learners in structures lacking active climate control, became unbearable during the dry months. In April 2024 alone, over **7,000 public schools** suspended in-person sessions on single days due to dangerous heat indexes. Teachers reported fainting spells, chronic headaches, and rampant absenteeism among students. Parent-teacher associations, teacher unions such as the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and the Teachers' Dignity Coalition (TDC), and medical groups pressured the central office for an immediate reversion.
DepEd executed a gradual, three-year pullback. School Year 2024, 2025 opened on July 29, 2024, followed by an earlier mid-June opening in 2025. The publication of the official School Year 2026, 2027 guidelines represents the final peg in that strategy, re-establishing the rhythm familiar to generations of Filipino families.
