By DIANNE LEABAN
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — A group of Filipino teachers called on the Philippine government to look into the growing concerns as preparations roll for the planned return of face-to-face classes this upcoming school year.
“We want to hear and see how President Marcos Jr. will address [the] classroom and teacher shortages,” ACT Philippines Vladimer Quetua said in a statement.
The group laid down six demands that the new administration should focus on before implementing face-to-face classes:
- to double school maintenance and operating budget for:
- proper and adequate ventilation of classrooms
- sufficient hand-washing facilities and water supply
- operational clinic with sufficient supplies and equipment
- ample health and sanitation supplies and enforcement of health protocols;
- to employ additional teachers to be able to implement the ideal 35 maximum student class size;
- to employ more nurses and utility personnel for every school;
- to ensure the health protection and benefits of teachers and school employees:
- free medical check-up and treatment
- 15-day sick leave for teachers
- additional compensation for teaching overload and non-teaching duties for teachers, as well as overtime for teachers and school employees
- timely and just special hardship allowance for teachers;
- to aid for struggling families in the midst of the economic crisis;
- to conduct a learning assessment of students all over the country to be used as a gauge for the adjustments needed for the curriculum in the education recovery program.
Noting that action should be done with urgency, Quetua added, “We also want to see if President Marcos would prioritize these concerns in his first 100 days.”
Meanwhile, the group also stressed their criticism on President Marcos’ statement on the continuation of blended learning in specific areas around November, when most schools in the country would be required to fully resume face-to-face classes, saying that it is an admission of “the dire state of our educational system.”
“It highlights [that] the failure to address classroom and teacher shortages for the longest time would not even allow us to bring all our students back to school without compromising their health and safety, especially in urban areas, despite the urgent need for face-to-face instructions,” Quetua said.
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, education, as with most sectors, was reshaped to cope with the new normal, thus, the introduction of different learning delivery systems and setups.
With the implementation of social distancing, students have been subjected to blended learning, a combination of online and offline learning.
Admittedly, the pandemic highlighted the problems with the country’s education system that were already present even before the health crisis, or perhaps, made them worse.
“The national government should have an effective and comprehensive plan to provide the needs for blended learning and not just depend on local government units (LGUs) to provide gadgets, internet and module print outs,” Queta said.
“The blended learning set up should also be clear as temporary because it has been proven that for the last two years this type of distance learning modalities arr not effective especially for young learners,” he reiterated. (JJE, RTS) 
