ACT: DepEd’s Extracurricular Activity Ban Counter-Productive

The Department of Education (DepEd)’s plan to prohibit extracurricular activities during school days may be counterproductive for both students and teachers, according to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).

“Extracurricular activities contribute to learners’ holistic development and provide them different forms of enjoyable activities that also serve as respite from intensive formal academic work,” ACT chairman Vladimer Quetua said in a statement on Tuesday, Aug. 30.

“Allowing these only on weekends, when learners should be having a break and spending time with their families, will only make extracurricular activities burdensome, thereby defeating its very purpose,” Quetua added.

Earlier, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said the DepEd would release the guidelines regarding the allowed activities during school hours.

In an earlier order, the DepEd said the number of school days in the current school year “shall solely be dedicated to academics and related co-curricular activities.”

“The conduct of extra-curricular activities shall be strictly prohibited,” the agency added.

Considered extension of formal learning experiences, co-curricular activities are “authorized, voluntary and non-graded engagements” anchored on the curriculum’s content and performance standards.

Examples include the National Schools Press Conference, National Science and Technology Fair and the National Festival of Talents.

Meanwhile, extracurricular activities are “voluntary, non-graded learner engagements that are not anchored on the content and performance standards in the curriculum and are offered/ coordinated by the school to promote the learner’s holistic development.”

Duterte said the upcoming guidelines would identify co-curricular and extracurricular activities.

In his statement, Quetua pointed out that the DepEd’s plan to prohibit extracurricular activities on class days appears to be based on what he called the “narrow framework that loss in learning can be recovered through more intensive and greater hours of academic study.”

He stressed that the policy could lead to burnout of both students and teachers as they may end up doing such activities on weekends.

“The DepEd should think outside of the K-12 box to jumpstart education recovery,” Quetua said.

“It should outline the most basic and essential learning objectives that the coming school year can focus on and realistically achieve. It should consider the work-life balance of both learners and teachers so that more effective and relevant learning can happen,” he added.