Silliman University has assured parents and students of the benefits of the newly-implemented schedule involving only four days of classes, following concerns raised by parents and alumni.
In a press statement, Mark Raygan Garcia, director of the Office of Information and Publications, said the University still has a five-day schedule for learning activities but classes will only be held from Tuesdays to Fridays, to “optimize class hours.”
“Mondays are reserved for other learning activities, such as convocations, special events and other co-curricular activities,” he said.
Under this scheme, the University still offers the same course contents and curriculum, the same approach to the delivery of course content, the same number of class hours required to finish a course, the same number of academic days in a school year, the same teachers and the same place of learning, Garcia added.
Garcia said scheduling of classes and related learning activity is for the school to decide, based on its available resources and facilities.
“But we will always welcome suggestions and comments aimed at allowing us to further improve our programs and services,” Garcia said.
This new policy sowed confusion among parents and students, as they feared that classes would have to extend until nighttime.
A mother of a first year high school student, on the other hand, said she was given various reasons for this new policy. “I was told it was all about cost-cutting. Then, climate change.”
In line with the new policy, the School of Basic Education issued a class schedule where high school students would stay in school until 6:30 p.m., only to take it back one day later after receiving negative feedback from the parents and students. “The schedule was never true,” high school principal Brenda Boladola told parents in a PTA meeting.
Dr. Earl Jude Cleope, dean of the College of Education, reminded the parents that the University is autonomous. “Just trust us. We know what we are doing,” Cleope said.
