THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers lamented the “negligible” budget increase given to the Department of Education for 2022.

The group said the department has no reason to be thankful when there is no sufficient budget for safe school opening.

The DepEd recently welcomed the P2-billion increase thanks to the agency’s budget.

“DepEd, read the room. We — teachers, students, and even their parents — have been struggling with the costs of distance learning and the steep decline in the quality of education after nearly two years of school closure. DepEd’s school reopening program has only started to take off and we’re still facing enormous challenges, especially with the Omicron-driven surge in infection. These concerns should be amplified by DepEd, not stifled with empty praises that neither represent the voice of the sector nor benefit us in any way,” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, said.

The group noted that the “negligible raise” was not even half of what DepEd asked for and far from ACT’s estimated P118-billion requirement to fund safe school reopening in more areas; the provision of laptops, gadgets, and internet allowances to teachers and students; and the granting of health protection and just benefits to personnel, including overtime pay for the last school year, hazard pay, medical support, and overload pay.

ACT, however,  claimed some gains in the budget fight for State Universities and Colleges as the increases in funding restored the huge amounts that the Budget department attempted to cut.

“Even in his last 6 months in office, Duterte kept the education sector at the least of his priorities, enabled by no less than education chiefs such as Briones and De Vera; while questionable infra projects and, of course, his rabid red-tagging task force, the NTF-ELCAC, continued to be favored. His flagship ‘Build, Build, Build’ program received just a few billion short of what was given to the education sector, while the NTF-ELCAC still got P17 billion despite misuse of funds and clamor for its total defunding and dismantling. Those are people’s money being thrown down the drain, for which we are demanding accountability,” Basilio said.