DepEd issues school calendar for 2014-2015

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday officially announced that the first day of classes for School Year (SY) 2014-2015 in public elementary and secondary schools nationwide will be on June 2, 2014 and shall end on March 27, 2015.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro, through DepEd Order No. 18 series of 2014, announced that the calendar for this coming school year “reflects the school events and core activities” and represents the “actual teaching-learning days” to be “strictly observed in all schools.”

This SY, said Luistro, “will consist of 201 school days” inclusive of the five-day In-Service Training (INSET) break and the parent-teacher conferences. Also released in the said calendar are the different school events and activities—including the number of school days per quarter.

“To ensure quality in the school operation and actual teaching-learning, a 180-day non-negotiable contact time for teachers, and the physical presence of school heads is expected every school day, even during attending official business, the 2012 days shall be enforced,” he added.

Private schools, stressed Luistro, “may deviate from this School Calendar.” This, he explained, is based on Republic Act (RA) No. 7797 or “An Act to Lengthen the School Calendar from 200 days to not more than 220 Days.”

While private schools are allowed to decide on when to start classes, he noted that “they may not start classes earlier than the first Monday of June and not late than the last day of August.”