THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers warned that harder times lie ahead in education because of the alleged plan of the Department of Education “to reduce the production of printed modules and increase the use of online learning due to budget constraints.”

ACT said it also agrees with the recent results of a Social Weather Stations survey showing that 89 percent of families saw blended learning as more difficult than the traditional face-to-face classes.

“How many more surveys does the Duterte government need for it to listen to our education stakeholders and urgently address the worsening education crisis? Instead of allocating additional budget to alleviate the suffering of learners, teachers and parents, the government’s thrust now is to further scrimp on education and exacerbate our hardships,” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, said in a statement.

ACT also criticized a DepEd memo dated March 10, 2021, issued by Undersecretary Alain Pascua, that seeks to increase the utilization of its online platform DepEd Commons to minimize the agency’s expenses for module printing.

The group noted that the move shows that the P15 billion government allocation for module printing this year was inadequate. The DepEd had requested P50 billion.

“It is plainly tactless and heartless to force poor families to shift to online learning while the government has no allocation either for gadget and internet support. This would only make education less accessible to the poor and impose heavier financial burdens to families,” Basilio said.

He added that the SWS survey only proved how disastrous the Duterte regime’s distance learning is, as it only “aggravated instead of alleviate the hardships of the people reeling in health and economic crises.”

“Without printed learning materials, no government-provided gadgets and internet allowance, and next to none internet signal in many areas in the country, how else can the poor children learn amid the pandemic?” Basilio asked.

ACT pressed for the allocation of a supplementary P120 billion budget to improve access to and the quality of education amid the pandemic.

The amount would cover the needed learning resources for both modular and online learning, preparation for the safe and limited reopening of schools in areas with zero Covid19 infection, and protection and benefits for education frontliners.