PUBLIC school teachers from all over the country took to social media their demands for higher education budget to address the shortages in learning needs and upgrade their salaries.

“Today, from our classrooms, we held a social media rally to let the voices of our teachers be heard by our lawmakers. Hindi puwedeng tiisin lang ng mga guro at estudyante ang lugmok na kalagayan ng ating mga paaralan,” Vladimer Quetua, chairperson of Alliance of Concerned Teachers, said.

“We need urgent and game-changing measures from the government to uplift teachers’ conditions and recover education from the learning crisis. First step of which is to double the education budget and ensure that all resources are effectively spent for learning needs and not on questionable items like confidential funds or overpriced laptops,” he added.

The group lamented the failure of DepEd
to lay down a satisfactory performance report and plans in meeting the learning needs.

“Mahigit 900 classroom lamang ang naipagawa ngayong taon habang higit 90,000 pa ang kulang. Walang inilalatag na kongkretong plano kung paano pupunuan ang kakulangan kundi class shifting, pagkatok sa mga local government units at paghiram ng espasyo sa private schools. Hindi raw kayang itayo ang mga bagong classroom sa loob ng isa o dalawang taon, eh kailan pa natin popondohan at ipapatayo ang mga ito?” Quetua added.

ACT also questioned the agency’s computer program, saying it has no clear explanation where the fund went.

“Ipinambili raw ito ng mga laptop para sa mga guro gayung pondo mula sa Bayanihan 2 ang ginastos sa pagbili ng mga laptop. Ginamit raw sa TV and radio-based instruction samantalang napakaliit na bilang lamang ng mga guro at mag-aaral ang gumamit nito,” Quetua said.

“Hindi rin maayos na masagot ng DepEd ang mga katanungan kung paano tinitiyak ang inclusive and gender-sensitive education. Nagkukumahog sila sa pagpapaliwanag hinggil sa Alternative Learning System at Comprehensive Sexuality Education. Zero budget ang Special Education at napakalaki ng kakaltasin sa edukasyon para sa mga katutubong komunidad,” he added.