CHED backs 4-day school week

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has expressed support for a four-day school week in Metro Manila, which aims to ease traffic once the construction of 15 major road projects begins.

“A four-day school week is an interesting possibility, but it will have to be studied and planned carefully,” CHED Chairman Patricia Licuanan said.

Licuanan said the proposal of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino to open offsite or satellite campuses in the provinces is not feasible.

“Very few HEIs (higher education institutions) have the capacity to transfer their operations to nearby provinces,” she said.

Licuanan said a multisectoral group should work out other possible solutions to address traffic problems in the metropolis.

Tolentino is pushing for a four-day school week in all elementary and high schools in Metro Manila as traffic is expected to worsen this year due to infrastructure construction.

He said the scheme has long been practiced in several countries including the United States.

The MMDA chief also proposed the distance learning system or “open university” scheme among universities and colleges in Metro Manila to reduce commuter and vehicular traffic volume on major thoroughfares.

Schools may opt to transfer some of their students to their offsite or satellite campuses to lessen their number in Metro Manila.

One of the government’s major infrastructure projects this year is the Sky Project Stage 3, which will complete the Metro Manila Skyway System from Alabang to Balintawak. –Helen Flores (The Philippine Star)