SCHOOL Year 2021-2022 should not open earlier than September 13 to provide teachers 80 days of paid vacation, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers said.

The Department of Education earlier considered opening classes on August 23 but it was met with opposition.

“It is already too much that teachers are made to work for 13 straight months in the current school year, and shortening their much-needed break after the taxing first year of distance learning is just plain abuse,” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, said.

Basilio said that the DepEd still has to recompense the 77 days of overtime work that it imposed on teachers under the extended school year.

“Either they pay our teachers with 25 percent of daily pay for each day of overtime work, or convert such to more rest days, which is equivalent to 19 days. With this, opening of the next school year can be scheduled on October 4,” Basilio said.

He blasted Education Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio for saying that classes should start immediately because it is not right to have too many days of rest.

“It is very insensitive of the DepEd to treat our teachers like tireless machines or beasts of burden that it can just whip to action. Hindi tamad ang ating mga guro kaya humihingi sila ng sapat na pahinga, mga tao silang nagkakasakit na sa bigat ng gawain at tagal ng pagpapatrabaho,” Basilio said.