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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
May 28, 2026 | 3:54pm
MANILA, Philippines — The government has begun nationwide preparations for the opening of classes on June 8, the Department of Education announced, tapping police, health workers and utility firms to ensure the smooth start of the school year.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said on Thursday, May 28, that 16 government agencies and private utility partners would take part in this year's Oplan Balik Eskwela, the annual back-to-school drive, which runs from June 1 to 11.
"We are making sure, together with the various government agencies, that our students' return to school will be safe, orderly and trouble-free," Angara said.
The police, the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Metro Manila Development Authority will manage safety and congestion around schools, while the health department and disaster officials will be on standby.
Power and water providers Meralco and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System have "finalized strict oversight measures to guarantee uninterrupted power and water services to all school clusters," the department said.
"To maintain structural stability, the Department of Energy (DOE) will coordinate steady grid distribution, while the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) expands consumer protection," DepEd said.
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines has raised, for several consecutive days, a yellow alert status for the Visayas grid due to the forced outage of generating units in two coal-powered plants. Rotating brownouts have also taken place in Metro Manila and nearby provinces for the past month of May due to power supply shortages.
DepEd said the transportation department will monitor travel for commuting students, while the public works department handles road and infrastructure repairs near campuses. The social welfare department will track assistance for vulnerable learners, and the information and communications department, along with the National Telecommunications Commission, has been tasked to keep connectivity steady.
Meanwhile, "communication efforts" will be amplified by the Presidential Communications Office, DepEd said.
A command center will be set up to handle public complaints and questions by hotline, text, email and social media throughout the opening of classes, the department said. It added that public school teachers would be kept free of administrative and clerical work during the preparation weeks so they can focus on readying their classrooms.
Classes this year open under the three-term calendar adopted for 2026-2027, with the school year running until April 8, 2027.
The three-term system, approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in March, replaces the old four-quarter calendar used by the department.
Instead of four grading periods, the school year is now divided into three terms, each with its own teaching period and assessments.
DepEd has said the change is meant to protect teaching time and cut down on disruptions.
The department earlier reported that schools lost as many as 53 class days in 2023-2024 to typhoons, floods and other interruptions.
Not all groups welcomed the shift. Among others, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers criticized the change as having been decided without enough consultation and does not address deeper problems such as teacher shortages and low pay.
The public can reach the department's command centre through the DepEd Action Center hotlines, by text on 0919-456-0027 (Smart) or 0995-921-8461 (Globe), or by email at [email protected].
