THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers questioned the Department of Education’s learning recovery strategy of enforcing longer learning time for teachers and learners.

It implored the agency to adjust the curriculum to focus on the fundamentals instead.

The group said it received complaints from teachers about the remedial and special reading classes they are required to render on top of their regular workload, even during weekends.

ACT shared a memorandum from DepEd Lapu-Lapu City which orders the conduct of special reading classes for non-readers during weekends in ten pilot schools.

The group said that many regions are also implementing remedial and reading classes beyond regular class hours and during weekends.

“Extending class time and holding classes even on weekends can do more harm than good to our learners who are still adjusting to face-to-face classes after two years of distance learning, and to our already overworked teachers. May mga ulat tayong natatanggap na tulala ang mga bata sa klase, at meron pang mga kaso ng panic attacks. Ang mga guro natin, bugbog na sa trabaho. Imposing longer learning time can lead to burnout, which will defeat its purpose of helping in education recovery,” Vladimer Quetua, ACT chairperson, said.

“Bago pahabain ang oras ng pag-aaral, suriin muna kung angkop ba ang laman ng ipinatuturo sa guro. We have been pointing out since before the pandemic that the K-12 curriculum is too cluttered that mastery of lesson is difficult to achieve. It’s streamlined version of Most Essential Competencies, which has been implemented since the pandemic, is still not simplified enough. Given the learning crisis, we should go back to the fundamentals. Let us focus on the ‘need to know’ and ‘to know first’,” Quetua added.