ACT TEACHERS Partylist Rep.  France Castro on Friday urged the government to hasten vaccine procurement so that more teachers and education personnel can be given jabs.

Based on the Covid19 vaccination tracker launched by the Department of Education recently, 788,839 personnel of the department are eligible for vaccination but only 299,021 or 37.91 percent have either received their first dose or completed two doses.

This means that there are still 489,818 or 62 percent that are unvaccinated.

“With President Duterte’s pronouncements that there will be no face-to-face classes until teachers and students are vaccinated, we fear that the government would settle with blended distance learning as the norm for access to education,” Castro said.

The lawmaker stressed that the government should also be more transparent in its vaccine rollout to ensure that all those eligible for inoculation get protection.

“With reports of teachers still being asked to report to school even during their supposed school break, they continue to remain vulnerable to the virus,” Castro said.

Teachers, she added, are also essential frontline workers.

“Sa datos na ito, kailangang lalong bigyang halaga ng Department of Education ang kaligtasan ng bawat guro at kawani nito. Napakarami pa ring mga pumapasok na report na pinapapasok pa rin ang mga guro sa kanilang mga paaralan kahit panahon na ng bakasyon sana ng guro,” Castro said.

The Department of Education must also ensure that schools have adequate facilities and proper ventilation to prepare for safe face-to-face classes.

“Blended learning has not been effective and limits the access of many pupils to quality education. We can no longer afford another school year of distance blended learning especially for indigent families. Though having vaccines should not be a prerequisite for having face-to-face classes, giving priority to teachers and education personnel would greatly protect them from contracting the virus,” the lawmaker said.