THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers expressed disappointment on the non-inclusion of their salary hike and other key education issues in the first State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.

Vladimer Quetua, chairperson of ACT Philippines, said there were no game-changing measures mentioned to resolve the education crisis.

“Nakikita ang kawalang-pakialam sa edukasyon sa kawalan ng anumang banggit sa napag-iwanang sweldo ng mga guro. Kung nais makaahon sa krisis sa edukasyon, integral ang pagkalinga sa kapakanan ng mga guro na frontliners ng education delivery,” he added.

“Ang kaligtasan ng mga bata, iniaasa sa kulang na bakuna. Ang kulang na klasrum, iniaasa sa local government units. Ang learning loss, iniaasa sa refresher course sa mga guro. These are all insufficient and shallow measures that does not tackle the crisis head on,” Quetua said.

“In fact, some of the measures he proposed would even worsen the learning crisis the education sector is experiencing now. The quality of education would further deteriorate and learners would not understand their lessons if the supposed K to 12 review focuses on the push for English as the main medium of instruction.”

The group also reiterated its opposition to the revival of mandatory Reserve Officers Training Course.

“ROTC which is rife with abuse is not the answer to instill nationalism among the youth. The problem is in the curriculum of the K to 12 itself, because it weakened the teaching of Filipino and Philippine history,” Quetua said.