August? Changing the school calendar of the Philippines will have both positive and negative outcomes. Synchronization with other universities in Southeast Asia and global competitiveness are just some of the reasons why it has come to a point for the Philippines to change the school calendar. It appears as a bandwagon effect to other people like hipster to mainstream. The question remains, however, whether or not it makes our nation better? Will it move us toward internationalization? The answer is within our hands. Schools in the Philippines have always started around June. We are actually the only Southeast Asian country that follows the June to March school calendar. School starts in July as for Myanmar and October in Cambodia. For the rest of the countries that are part of ASEAN, they start in August. This brings us to the main reason why universities in the Philippines such as University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Santo Tomas and etc., have switched their school calendars to August like the rest of the world. According to UP President, Alfredo Pascual, the purpose of this adjustment is to facilitate academic changes, joint research, and quality benchmarking. As cited in one article in Rappler, our country has low rankings by means of universities and poor researches done. With the help of ASEAN, we will possibly have a higher chance to improve our education and knowledge. Pascual also mentioned that the change would maximize the opportunities offered by ASEAN integration and global education partnerships. This is a positive outcome that may happen. It will help our country to be as successful as other countries, through education. There are also a lot of benefits that Filipino students will encounter. For instance, the longer break between
high school graduation, which usually happens late March,
and college will help these alumni prepare themselves for college. It can be a period of bridging for those who need classes in languages, science, and math before entering UP, Pascual said. It is true that it will help high school fresh graduates to prepare by studying in advance or taking up an extra curricular for their future needs but that will all depend on the student. Aside from the longer break benefits; there will be reduce of transportation cost for students who go home during the holidays. This is an important and positive effect especially to students who are financially poor. This will become a big benefit to them. With the new system, however, the weather will be a slight problem for the students. Classes will be held during the hot weather. As a commuter myself, it will be a discomfort for me. The hot weather plus the smog from jeepneys and other vehicles will make us perspire, unless you have a private air-conditioned vehicle of your own. Eventually that sweat left in our back will dry up and could possibly give us pneumonia. All of that, of course, will not happen if you have an extra shirt or towel to dry yourself up. Students should just be prepared for whatever weather. Lastly, there will also be a change in the universities schedule in terms of academics. Internships, entrance exams, and board exams are some of the important concerns due to the change within the school calendar. Organization problems will have to be solved as well. Everything will have to adjust. The universities have not made any statements regarding the concerns. For sure, they are preparing all these changes and figuring out how to deal with the concerns stated. After all, colleges will not start until August. All of these changes will improve our universities statistics and rankings. We obviously need the help from ASEAN. We can improve our researches and other educational matters if we work together with other
countries. Other countries such as Singapore, which has
the highest rank of university in Southeast Asia, achieve such high education because of their advance curricula. With the same schedule, we can exchange ideas and techniques concerning education and researches. Just like in one of the Beatles song, well get by with a little help from our friends.