Catholic groups wary of DepEd’s 3-term shift

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March 31, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Catholic education groups have raised concerns that the country’s education system may not yet be ready for the Department of Education (DepEd)’s planned shift to a three-term academic calendar for school year 2026-2027.

In a joint statement, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Catholic Education (CBCP-ECCE) said the proposed change requires more than a simple adjustment in scheduling.

“While we recognize the intent to recalibrate academic terms in support of learning recovery and system efficiency, we underscore that the true measure of this reform lies not in the calendar itself, but in the system’s readiness to redesign teaching, learning and assessment around it,” the groups said.

“The shift from a four-quarter to a three-term structure is not merely a scheduling adjustment but a systemic transformation that demands coherence across curriculum, pedagogy and assessment,” they added.

The groups cited findings from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), which stressed that reforms of this scale must be evidence-based, widely consulted and supported by sustained capacity-building to protect educational quality and learner outcomes.

Although DepEd is not requiring private schools to adopt the three-term calendar, the groups emphasized that any reform must be anchored on clear and measurable targets.

They warned that without corresponding curriculum adjustments, redistributing time could lead to “shallower coverage, accelerated pacing without mastery, increased assessment pressure, reduced remediation space and heightened teacher fatigue.”

“These risks are not theoretical but reflect the lived realities of classrooms when structural reforms outpace instructional readiness,” they noted.

The groups said learning targets should be recalibrated, stressing that reforms must ultimately improve outcomes, strengthen teacher effectiveness and support student well-being.

The CEAP also underscored the need for a phased and well-supported transition, allowing schools to undertake curriculum remapping, adjust assessment frameworks, invest in teacher training and align institutional systems and resources.

It added that differing academic calendars between public and private schools could pose challenges in student mobility, college admissions alignment, teacher deployment and household planning.

“These realities underscore that private schools operate within complex social and regulatory environments. In this light, CEAP calls for continued dialogue, policy sensitivity and a phased, research-informed approach that respects institutional diversity, ensures coordination across sectors and upholds the primacy of quality, equitable and mission-driven education,” it said.