With the pandemic still raging on, the crisis in the Philippine educational system has been further exposed. Instead of addressing the concerns of the education sector, the Duterte administration has chosen to neglect it even more by not providing enough budget for distance learning.
The learning modalities recommended by the education department are not suitable to students with special needs.
Public school teachers spend for their basic protection such as alcohol, face masks, face shields and gloves. The Department of Education admitted that there is no budget allocated for the hospitalization of teachers who will be infected by the virus.
“This is an injudicious handling of the people’s coffers, seeing as how the state’s insufficient funding will further deprive millions their constitutionally granted right to accessible and quality education, while education workers will be subjected to unsafe working conditions and forced to again make up for shortages.”
The groups said that such decision is an “affirmation that the agency is indeed unprepared for this school year’s blended learning.”
“The teachers, parents, and the youth are here today to demand that DepEd once and for all face us and address our pressing concerns. As their constituents, we have the right to know where the agency is in terms of preparations for safe, accessible, and quality education amid the pandemic.” By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL…
“DepEd Sec. Leonor Briones’ pep talk on fighting fears and teaching our students courage does not assuage our apprehensions as they are based on our rational assessment of the country’s present condition.”
“It is worth noting that this attack comes at a time when teachers have been growing in strength and uniting en masse for a substantial salary increase.”
“It’s the low salary that is pushing teachers to go out in the streets and protest.”
“The two officials are not in the position to lecture us on our jobs. Their stances show that they have very little appreciation of the objectives of education.”
Teaching is not about money but about public service, Education Secretary Leonor Briones told her constituents last week. She was right — at least about the public service part. Teaching is also a job and not volunteer work. One has to have certain qualifications to teach, in exchange for which the successful applicant correctly expects…