Politician in Philippines proposes 'no homework law' on weekends

A politician in the Philippines proposed a 'no homework law' arguing that the kids should take rest and rejuvenate on weekends instead of doing homework as they already spend more than 10 hours in their respective schools on weekdays.

Sam Versoza, a member of the Philippine House of Representatives for Tutok To Win Party-List, put forward the proposal aiming at banning teachers from giving homework on weekends to the students of elementary and high school.

As per The Star reports, in 2010, a memorandum circular by the Department of Education advised teachers to assign just reasonable homework on weekdays to the students of public elementary schools. The circular further added that there should be no homework given to the students.

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The bill proposed by Versoza is aimed at institutionalizing the concept for all elementary and high schools across the country.

Since the 17th Congress, from 2016 to 2019, the lawmakers in the country have taken several measures to institute a no-homework policy on weekends.

However, such measures are still pending before the House Basic Education and Culture Committee.

In a privilege speech on Monday (May 22), Versoza said that the students work extra hours to complete their homework.

He added that in some cases even parents take up the responsibility to finish the tasks assigned by teachers to their kids.

“The Filipino youth are overworked and yet the Philippines is trailing behind other countries,” Versoza said in his privilege speech.

He further cited recent reports that the average intelligence quotient (IQ) of Filipinos was 81.64, while the global average IQ was 100. The Philippines ranked 111th out of 200 countries in terms of average IQ.

“This is alarming and proves that the Philippines is in the middle of an educational crisis. If the system is not working, let us improve the system,” Versoza said.

He said that progressive nations like Finland, China, South Korea, and Japan, already cut back on giving homework to students and that the Philippines should also consider doing the same.

Versoza said an hour of homework a day was “sufficient to achieve satisfactory results” and that increasing the number of hours for homework “may cause stress to students and their families”.

The lawmaker also highlighted the disparity between the rich and poor in completing school tasks.

“Kids from wealthier homes are more likely to have resources such as computers, internet connection, dedicated areas to do schoolwork, and parents who tend to be more educated and more available to help them with their homework,” The Star quoted Versoza as saying.

"On the other hand, children from disadvantaged homes are more likely to take on after-school jobs, be at home without parents’ supervision, or take care of siblings instead of doing homework."

(With inputs from agencies)

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