SENATOR Win Gatchalian stated on Thursday that the original school calendar may be reinstated by 2025 as the Department of Education initiates its gradual transition.

“It will be a gradual process because we can’t rush it. If we do, we might end up with a year without breaks,” the chairman of the Senate basic education committee remarked during the Kapihan sa Senado forum.

“So, the timeframe is around two years. I believe that by the school year 2025, we can revert to our original calendar. The good news is that the transition has already begun,” Gatchalian added.

The disruption of the school calendar due to the pandemic was highlighted by Gatchalian as one of the issues.

“One of the unfortunate consequences of the pandemic is the disruption of our school calendar,” he emphasized.

“If we recall, in 2020, schools opened in October. Consequently, academic breaks fell in July or even August.”

The senator is in favor of returning to the old school calendar.

“We support that initiative. In fact, 88% of our fellow citizens want to revert to the previous academic calendar. Firstly, because it’s what we’re accustomed to,” he added.