THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers said that teachers encountered more problems in the first two weeks of classes.

“Sa nakaraang mga araw, lalong lumitaw ang mga problemang pilit pinagtakpan ng DepEd noong Agosto 22 para palabasin na natugunan nito ang mga paghahanda sa pagbabalik-eskwela. Lumobo ang bilang ng mga estudyante sa maraming paaralan kaya’t lalong kulang ang mga classroom, guro, aklat at upuan. Matindi ang overload ng mga guro sa trabaho, habang malinaw malinaw na plano kung paano ng aba sisimulan ang learning recovery,” Vladimer Quetua, the group’s chairperson, said.

The group said teachers are handling 7, 8, or 9 classes now from the previous six teaching loads.

It added that in the National Capital Region, giving ancillary duties to teachers was prohibited to max out the teaching loads that can be given to teachers. However, no non-teaching personnel were hired so teachers still perform the ancillary duties despite their workloads.

In Bicol region, the group said asynchronous classes were not counted as teaching hours of teachers to make it appear that teachers are underloaded and more work can be given to them.

“Wala ring angkop na gabay at plano kung paano sisimulan ang learning recovery. The past two weeks have been used up on orientation meetings as there is no clear guide on how teachers can jumpstart their lessons given that there are wide learning gaps that need to be addressed,” Quetua said.

“No learning assessments especially designed for our current situation were developed so teachers just improvise any diagnostic test that they can come up with. Teachers also report that learners are generally quiet and withdrawn in the face-to-face classes, with some incidents of learners experiencing anxiety attacks during classes as they are having a hard time adjusting to their new situation,” he added.

“Two weeks after and we are still waiting for game-changing measures that the current administration can commit to and implement to alleviate our learners and teachers of our dire situation. Nasasayang ang bawat araw na pumapasok tayo sa paaralan hangga’t walang solusyon na inilalapat sa mga problema at walang malinaw na planong inihahapag para sa pagbangon ng edukasyon,” he said.