THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers came up with a 10-point challenge for the new administration to address the problems that the education sector faced.

“Now that the Philippine education system is embroiled in an unprecedented crisis, game-changing measures are urgently needed to overturn the decline of education quality and to sufficiently capacitate the education system to perform its role in nation building,” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, said during ACT’s 16th national congress.

ACT asked President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President-elect and incoming Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio to double the education budget to meet the United Nations’ standard of education budget allocation. Based on the UN standard, a country’s education budget should be equivalent to 6 percent of its gross domestic product.

The group also asked the incoming administration to fulfill the requirements for the safe conduct of face-to-face classes in all schools nationwide; hire sufficient number of teachers to effectively cut down class size; build necessary facilities and install sufficient health measures; conduct student assessments nationwide to determine the nature and extent of the learning crisis and design and implement an evidence-based education recovery program; and provide sufficient and quality teaching and learning resources such as gadgets, textbooks, modules, internet allowance, among others.

The group also asked the incoming administration to reinstate Philippine History in the high school curriculum; restore Filipino and Philippine Literature in the tertiary curriculum; upgrade the salary level of teachers and education support personnel; relieve teachers of administrative duties; improve the benefits of education workers; grant 15 days sick leave for public school teachers; grant P3,000 inflation adjustment allowance for all government employees; lower the optional retirement age of government workers to 56 year old; expand and improve benefits for GSIS and SSS members; enact the Magna Carta for Private School Teachers; and ensure the enjoyment of academic freedom of all teachers and institutions.

“We hope that the incoming VP and education secretary would study and implement these measures to address the many issues confronting the education sector and we are open to discuss these with her,” Basilio said.

“We are joining the peaceful assembly of various sectors on June 30, during the inauguration of the new administration, to deliver our demands,” he added.