THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers demanded a higher education budget, equivalent to six percent of the country’s gross domestic product, to save the education system and to help upgrade the salaries of teachers.

ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua said that they noticed a dip in the grades of the students for the first quarter of the school year.

“While we do not want our learners to be grade conscious, this should be a matter of concern for the government as it indicates a greater need for measures to address the learning crisis. What the face-to-face classes provided us is the real picture that many of our learners struggle to read and comprehend lessons, even those in high school. It is not enough that schools have been reopened, our teachers and learners need an enabling learning environment, as well as an evidence-based and effective education recovery program, which both demand higher state subsidy,” Quetua said.

He added that the government should give education the needed fuel to change the course of the country’s declining education quality.

“Cramped classrooms, makeshift learning spaces, scant learning resources, and overworked and underpaid teachers will simply not do if we want education to truly recover, nor will merely extending learning time for remedial classes bridge the learning gaps. Moreover, it would be more productive to rethink and adjust the whole curriculum based on an objective study of the general level of proficiency of our learners, instead of blindly chasing for the problematic set of K-12 competencies,” Quetua said.

“Habang bumaba ang grado ng mga bata, bumabagsak rin naman ang tunay na halaga ng sweldo ng mga guro at kawani dahil sa matinding implasyon. Nasa P4,000 sa maliit na ngang buwanang sweldo ng mga guro ang nawala sa pagpalo ng 7.7 percent na implasyon noong Oktubre. Inadequate teachers’ pay is an objective hindrance to improving education quality. How can we expect quality teaching if our already overworked teachers are forced to take on extra jobs or leave the teaching profession so that they can amply provide for their families?” he added.