THE ALLIANCE  of Concerned Teachers on Thursday urged members of the House of Representatives to restore the budget of the Department of Education, especially allotments for programs related to distance learning.

ACT called for the restoration of the P2.69 billion cut in the school maintenance and other operating expenses of DepEd as well as the budget for Special Education, World Teachers Day incentive, and medical allowance, which were all removed in the 2021 proposed budget.

“We appeal to our lawmakers to end the teachers’, students’ and parents’ nightmarish predicament under the newly opened distance learning program mainly borne out of lack of sufficient funding. Use your mandate to make things right for the education sector and the future of our country,” ACT Secretary-General Raymond Basilio said.

Basilio added that the proposed P605.74 billion DepEd budget in 2021 is ‘unresponsive’ to the needs of the education sector as it lacks provisions for personnel, devices, learning resources and health protection mechanisms needed in distance learning.

He said that 92.5 percent or P126.39 billion of the proposal is meant for teaching and learning resources and techniques which are needed by the education sector during the pandemic.

Basilio also pushed for the full provision of 1:1 student to module set ratio, laptop and internet allowance for every teacher, devices and internet allowance for the poorest 5 percent of students and the hiring of 100,000 community tutors to assist the students who have no access to gadgets and lack adult supervision.

“It is saddening that instead of providing for these critical items to enable learning continuity, especially for the poor, the Duterte government only wants to provide for less than 1/3 of the needed budget for module printing, while there are no provisions for devices and internet allowance for teachers and learners, nor for the hiring of community tutors,” he said.

Basilio criticized the cuts made on school maintenance. He also cited the need to hire 2,000 nurses to meet DepEd’s one nurse per district ratio. The group proposed to have an additional P1.71 billion to cover preemptive health mechanisms.

It also proposed a budget of P8.55 billion for health screening and testing for DepEd personnel, provision of personal protective gear, hazard pay, restoration of the WTD incentive and medical allowance, among others.

“The DepEd has referred to the School MOOE as if it is an inexhaustible resource, all the time invoking the fund whenever teachers ask for funding for school opening needs. It must be increased significantly, instead of slashed, to ensure the availability of sanitation and health personnel, equipment and supplies in schools,” Basilio said.