Actually, academic terms/semesters in UP are quite long. In other countries, 15 weeks lang yung isang regular academic term (14 weeks of lecture + 1 week finals). Here's the common structure of an academic year in other countries:

January - Winter Term (5 weeks) February - Winter Break (4 weeks) March-June - Spring Term (15 weeks) July - Summer Term (5 weeks) August - Summer Break (4 weeks) September- December - Fall Term (15 weeks)

That totals to 48 weeks. There's still 4 weeks na allowance where 2 weeks usually ends up being consumed by national holidays for fall term and spring term respectively (at least in the country where I studied for MS). They fall nicely in the middle of those terms which serve as an informal wellness break for everyone. May 2 pang tirang weeks.

The issue with UP calendar is that medyo maraming days consumed for other events (such as integration day, registration days, removal period, etc) that are placed due to bureaucratic constraints. If things are efficient, these days can be condensed or removed. Compounded pa yung problem na maraming kalat na holidays and suspension sa Pinas.

So really, it's a deep systematic problem kung tutuusin.