THE Alliance of Concerned Teachers maintained that blended learning is not the solution to the learning crisis made worse by the lack of classrooms and teachers.

“Malaki ang hinahabol natin sa pagkatuto ng mga bata dahil sa learning loss noong pandemya. Makadadagdag pa sa paglala ng learning crisis kung ipipilit ng DepEd na gawing permanenteng moda ang blended learning lalo pa’t marami sa aming mga estudyante ang walang sariling gadget at maayos na akses sa internet,” Vladimer Quetua, the group’s chairperson, said.

He added that teachers do not get the support they need for online teaching such as laptops, printers and internet allowance.

“At higit sa lahat, magiging sagabal pa ito para matutukan namin ang mga bata. Sa malamang ay mas bibigat lang ang trabaho namin dahil sa modang ito,” Quetua said.

What is needed, he stressed, is a strong commitment and full support of the government to raise the quality of education which requires a bigger budget. The group said the government has to hire 25,000 new teachers yearly until 2028 to eradicate teacher shortage, and an additional 5,000 new teachers to cover the yearly increase in enrolment, which totals to a requirement of 30,000 new teachers yearly.

The group also urged the government to build 50,000 classrooms yearly until 2028 to eradicate classroom shortage.