SAMAHAN ng Progresibong Kabataan challenged the Department of Education and the Duterte administration to ensure that displaced private school teachers who will be hired by the government to help with distant learning will receive their benefits, as they grapple to survive the onslaught of the Covid19 pandemic.

DepEd had said it will hire displaced private school teachers as tutors to help public schools implement the blended learning.

“[SPARK] challenges the DepEd and the Duterte administration to ensure safe working conditions, decent wages and hazard pay, and regular employment for displaced private school teachers,” the group posted on its Facebook page.

The progressive group is also worried that displaced private school teachers, especially in rural areas, will be significantly paid less and will be more prone in contracting the virus.

“Teachers hired under the program will most likely be paid less compared to the work they do. In rural, far-flung areas, the program will not be accessible and may cause more problems unless it is planned and coordinated well. Another problem is the possibility that they become door-to-door carriers of the virus as they travel,” SPARK said.

Unlike public schools, private school teachers are on a no-work-no-pay arrangement.

The group also pointed out the problem in education will be solved by an academic freeze until January 2021, as schools could return to the face-to-face mode of learning by then.