DepEd says trimester plan not final after pushback from teachers

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February 17, 2026 | 4:28pm

MANILA, Philippines — Days after it announced a possible trimester system for public schools, the Department of Education is now clarifying that this remains a proposal and no final decision has been made — a notably cautious tone after receiving criticism from teachers' groups.

"We take these views seriously as we acknowledge that structural reform and systemic issues, such as classroom shortage and teacher welfare, are not mutually exclusive," DepEd said in a statement.

The department said it is "actively conducting consultations" and will continue engaging education officials and stakeholders "to ensure that all voices are heard and considered."

"The intent of the proposal is to support broader reforms that simplify planning, improve the use of academic time, and reduce workload pressures on teachers," DepEd said in its statement.

The department affirmed its commitment to making sure its proposals are "based on feedback from the field."

What DepEd proposed

On February 13, Education Secretary Sonny Angara announced that DepEd was eyeing a shift from the current four-quarter system to a trimester setup for School Year 2026-2027. Under the proposal, 201 school days would be split across three terms — June to September, September to December and January to March.

Angara was quoted in the DepEd statement as saying they were "pushing for" the change to allow longer, uninterrupted learning periods, better pacing between lessons and a lower administrative burden on teachers. He cited findings from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), which flagged sharp declines in student proficiency across all grade levels.  

DepEd explained that teachers currently lose instructional time to mandatory observances and administrative tasks that crowd the school calendar. The trimester setup would, in theory, integrate these into classroom activities instead of holding separate programs that disrupt lessons.

"For example, national and cultural celebrations can be incorporated into reading materials, writing exercises, science discussions, and project-based learning. In this way, students learn about important topics while regular classes continue. Shorter in-class reflection activities, thematic discussions, or curriculum-linked projects can also be conducted instead of whole-day events that suspend academic instruction," DepEd said in its statement.

Lack of consultation. The proposal drew swift criticisms from at least two major teachers' groups. 

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said educators and students are "not lab rats" and questioned whether any study supported the shift. 

The Teachers' Dignity Coalition similarly shared its concern and said DepEd should have consulted teachers before floating the proposal publicly.

Sen. Bam Aquino, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, warned against a rushed rollout and called for a Senate hearing on the proposal.

Malacañang also weighed in, with Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro saying the Palace backs calls for broader public consultations on the proposal.

The trimester proposal comes weeks after EDCOM 2 released its final report in January, where it showed how the problems in the education sector are rooted in students' struggles with mastering foundational skills. Using DepEd assessment data from 2023 to 2025, the commission found that student proficiency drops from 30.5% in Grade 3 to just 0.47% by Grade 12 — meaning only four out of every 1,000 senior high school students have mastered basic learning competencies.

The commission traced the decline to a failure to master foundational skills early on, noting that nearly half of students are not reading at grade level by the end of Grade 3.