THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers has asked lawmakers to allocate P126.9 billion for the Department of Education to implement minimum requisites for safe, accessible and quality edu-cation.

The group said the amount is only 3.1 percent of the P4.1 trillion 2021 budget but will ensure the welfare of at least 22 million students and 900,000 public school teachers.

“The delivery of education suffered delays this school year due to our education system’s diffi-culty in shifting to remote learning amid the uncontained pandemic. With no end in sight to this health crisis, we urge lawmakers to judiciously allocate the people’s coffers to enable the provi-sion of social services like education to the Filipino people. After all, education is an inviolable right of our children and youth,” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, said in a state-ment.

ACT also called on lawmakers to allot at least P116.6 billion to teaching and learning needs un-der the blended modes of learning. This amount shall cover the costs of providing laptops to teachers (P19.1 billion); P1,500 monthly internet allowance for 10 months (P15 billion); increase of teaching supplies allowance to to P10,000; tablets and internet subsidy to at least 5 percent of the most crisis-affected students (P13.3 billion); module printing (P51.5 billion); module distribu-tion and retrieval (P8.5 billion); family literacy program (P100 million); and funding for special education (P107 million).

“The ‘new normal’ in education entailed a major shift in the operation of our schools and even our households. It remains the government’s responsibility to ensure that this will be done without foregoing access and quality, otherwise this government will fail and disenfranchise millions of youth. Teachers can only shell out so much from their shallow pockets amidst these crises. It’s only just that the state finally does its part and provide our teaching and learning needs,” Basilio said.

The group also called for preventive health measures which it said will need a budget of P1.7 billion. This would include the hiring of least 2,000 nurses.

It said that all DepEd districts should be provided medical equipment such as thermal scanners, foot baths, handwashing facilities, alcohol dispensers, disinfecting chemicals, power spray, and face masks (P772.48 million).

“These are essential needs of our schools at the moment and will allow for a relatively safe work-ing environment despite the uncontained pandemic. Old practices of having teachers play pre-tend-nurses will not stand in the face of a life-threatening viral disease, nor will faulty sanitation facilities and lack of basic hygiene products at school,” Basilio said.

ACT called on senators to provide benefits to frontliners in education, free swab tests, Personal Protective Equipment, hazard pay for community-based activities and overtime/overload pay.

“Education workers are essential frontliners with or without the pandemic. As the state endeavors to do its mandate of guaranteeing education for all, it cannot do so without ensuring the welfare and rights of teachers and education support personnel. An investment to education workers is an investment to the future of education and of the nation,” Basilio added.