ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. France Castro and Representative-elect Antonio Tinio criticized the administration for its continued reliance on band-aid solutions to the deepening crisis in Philippine education, warning that such measures only worsen already dire learning conditions.

“Mababa ang functional literacy sa bansa dahil sa mga basic at glaring shortages ng ating education system,” said Rep. France Castro.

“This school year, we are facing a shortage of 165,000 classrooms and 56,050 teachers, yet the government refuses to address these urgent gaps. Our teachers’ salaries are not even enough for a decent living, and they are forced to handle at least 27.6 million enrollees this year,” she added.

Castro emphasized that the Department of Education’s stopgap measures—such as normalizing large class sizes, increasing teaching loads, implementing hybrid modes, and running multiple shifts in overcrowded schools—are worsening the situation.

“Ang ginagawa ng DepEd para umangkop—malalaking klase, dagdag na teaching load, hybrid modes, at dalawang o higit pang shifts—hindi ito sapat. Sa halip, lalo nitong pinapalala ang learning outcomes ng mga estudyante,” Castro asserted.

Tinio likewise lambasted the administration for failing to provide structural solutions to the education crisis.

“The chronic shortages of classrooms and teachers are a direct result of the government’s neglect and underfunding. DepEd’s so-called adjustments only mask the real problems and pass the burden onto teachers and students,” Tinio said.

“We need comprehensive reforms and significant state investment in education, not temporary fixes that erode the quality of learning,” he added.

“Hindi puwedeng gawing normal ang siksikan sa mga silid-aralan at labis na trabaho ng mga guro. Ang mga ‘band-aid solution’ na ito ay nagpapakita ng kawalang malasakit ng administrasyong Marcos sa edukasyon ng kabataan,” Tinio further said.