TEACHERS’ groups yesterday called on education and elected officials to ditch platitudes and empty promises and instead deliver their long-overdue benefits and improve the quality of basic education in the country.
The Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) made the call as the country marked the start of National Teachers Month, which will culminate on October 5.
The annual month-long celebration began in 2011 in accordance with Proclamation 242 issued by then-President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
This year’s celebration, with the theme “Together4Teachers,” according to a statement issued by DepEd, aims “to honor Filipino teachers who are partners in building a patriotic and child-friendly nation.”
“As always, expect an oversupply of platitudes from ghostwriters paid for by politicians using taxpayer’s money. Elected officials never miss opportunities like this to have their names ringing in our ears, enough to last till the next elections,” TDC national president Benjo Basas said.
“We are going to hear, yet again, sweet words praising teachers for their sacrifices and heroic deeds. Perhaps a little promise here and there will be sprinkled, as tradition dictates.
Sad, yes. But even sadder is the fact that, as always, many teachers will once again naively believe what they hear and hope for better things to come. The country’s elected officials and the bureaucrats running the education agencies have their hearts set on things too remote from our teachers’ well-being, our children’s education, and our people’s future,” he added.
Basas said education and elected officials should address their call for a salary hike, the mandated 60-day rest after each school year, additional teachers’ health benefits, as well as lessening the workload of teachers by ensuring they really teach instead of doing clerical work.
ACT Chairperson Vladimir Quetua said it would be better for the national government to use its multi-billion peso confidential and intelligence funds to improve social services, including education, as the country commemorates Teacher’s Month.
“We in ACT asserted that President Marcos Jr.s’ planned hefty budget in contingency, confidential, intelligence and travel funds be rechanneled to address pressing education needs and underfunded social services. In the 2024 National Expenditure Program, the Office of the President has asked for an outstanding P4.56 billion in funding for confidential and intelligence funds,” Quetua said, adding that Malacanang also gets additional funding for the President’s travel expenses.
“The total amount for this is P5.9 billion, which is enough to fund the construction of 2,388 classrooms. It could have been used to address the problem of lack of classrooms nationwide,” Quetua said.
Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte has asked for P150 million in confidential and intelligence funding (CIF) for the education department in 2024 and another P500 million in CIF funding for the Office of the Vice President.
Quetua also said that despite repeated promises by DepEd to lessen the teachers’ workload, the reality is they are still taking in more than the required work by attending to teaching and clerical or ancillary tasks due to the government’s failure to hire more teachers.
“We need more than 100,000 additional teachers, at least 90,000 education support personnel and construct and repair at least 280,000 classrooms in order to reduce the class size to 35 students per classroom,” he said.
“Teachers in public schools manage an average of 45-60 students per class, with some experiencing shifts and overtime without additional compensation,” he added.
DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Cesar Bringas had earlier said classroom shortage in public schools had risen to 159,000, from last year’s 91,000.
Bringas said the 159,000 is an “accumulated’ shortage over the years and includes 440 classrooms damaged by typhoons and other natural calamities this year.
During the Senate hearing on the DepEd budget for 2024 last month, Bringas said the department needs at least P397 billion to address the current classroom backlogs. Each classroom cost around P2 million.
Under the proposed 2024 budget, the national government plans to create not more than 20,000 teaching personnel and 5,000 education support personnel items.
MONTH-LONG BREAK
Duterte vowed that teachers will have a 30-day break after the end of school year 2023-2024, adding they will not be given any volunteer work during the same period.
Duterte made the promise during the kick-off of the National Teachers’ Month celebration at the Bohol Wisdom School.
“We made sure that in this year’s school calendar, teachers will have 30 straight days of rest during the break without any DepEd activity that requires volunteer work. All activities with voluntary participation are scheduled after the said 30-day break,” Duterte said.
She said regional and division officials and school heads will be made to answer if any teacher complains they are being tasked to do volunteer work or report to school within the same period.
Duterte also said her office is about to sign an agreement with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for the provision of an exclusive lane that will handle teachers’ concerns with the state insurance and pension body.
To help teachers facing cases regarding their loan contracts, she said the DepEd will soon launch a website dedicated to providing them with free legal assistance.
She also said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the creation of 5,000 non-teaching posts for schools across the country to provide adequate support and manpower to teachers.
This, she added, will enable teachers to focus on their mandate of teaching and not doing ancillary or clerical work.
“Soon, you will be relieved of the administrative responsibilities that prevent you from focusing on enhancing our students’ learning,” she said.
Duterte said the DepEd is also developing an automated system for an “objective selection” in the hiring and promotion of teachers.
“Teachers have essentially helped build our country. And teachers will always be there as we move forward with our aspirations to see a stable, secure, peaceful, and strong motherland,” Duterte said in her speech in Bohol.
