ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro on Wednesday urged the government to provide more support to schools and teachers to ensure the safe resumption of face-to-face classes.

Castro lamented that teachers and schools “are once again left to find ways and band-aid solutions for perennial problems of shortages in classrooms, teachers, and facilities.”

The lawmaker admitted that holding physical classes is the best learning mode but schools need government support to build more classrooms and improve facilities.

She said that some schools conduct classes in unfinished or dilapidated classrooms or hold three shifts of classes a day.

“Face-to-face classes in the country is long overdue. The education crisis continues to worsen the longer we keep our students from their schools. It is still the best learning mode for pupils to access quality education,” Castro said.

However, she said that teachers are overworked, the reason why there had been a clamor to reduce their non-teaching tasks.

“Our schools have been doing their best to implement minimum health standards to ensure the safety of the teachers and the students from diseases. But they can only do so much with so little support. The government refuses to provide a medical fund for free treatment for teachers and students who would test positive for Covid19,” Castro added.

She also asked the Department of Education to asses the damage in school facilities from recent typhoons to ensure the safety of students and teachers.