ACT to DepEd: Treat teachers ‘as professionals’
MANILA, Philippines — The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on Friday criticized the Department of Education (DepEd) over its recent reminders for teachers on the use of social media and electronic devices, saying the agency has failed to address the root cause of the problem.
In a statement, the group noted that DepEd recently issued a series of reminders for teachers and education support personnel.
Teachers were urged to refrain from using their ATM payroll cards as loan collateral, posting online content that compromises the identities of their students, and allowing the use of electronic devices during class hours, unless it was for instructional or educational purposes.
Article continues after this advertisement
ACT, however, said these reminders “put the burden on teachers and personnel to manage problems” that are caused by “low salaries, inadequate support and severe shortages in schools.”
FEATURED STORIES
NEWSINFO
NEWSINFO
NEWSINFO
READ: Palace to teachers: Be professional, keep students out of online content
“The agency is busy with releasing reminders and warnings, while there is a lack of attention and action to resolve the root causes of teachers going into debt and extreme shortages in schools,” said ACT chairperson Ruby Bernardo.
The group stressed that “no teacher or education support personnel willingly surrenders their payroll card to loan sharks by choice,” and they are forced into such situations “because their current salaries can no longer keep pace with the soaring cost of living.”
It said “if the department truly wants to protect DepEd personnel from high-risk and abusive lending practices, financial exploitation, and excessive indebtedness, it must push the Marcos Jr. administration to provide teachers and education support personnel with decent and livable salaries.”
Article continues after this advertisement
‘Lacking support’
ACT also called out DepEd for reminding teachers to maintain “professionalism,” especially on social media, despite failing to treat them as professionals.
It stressed the agency “cannot demand silence or image management while the education system continues to face a worsening crisis.”
Article continues after this advertisement
“Treat us as professionals in the truest sense of the word. It is not enough to require a high standard of conduct and performance at work if the salaries are not enough, their situation at work is not human, and they are lacking in support,” said Bernardo.
The group told DepEd to “stop treating teachers and education personnel like children who need constant reprimands and reminders, and instead listen to and act on their legitimate demands.”
To address the challenges faced by teachers, ACT renewed its call for a P50,000 entry-level salary and a P36,000 minimum basic salary for Salary Grade 1 employees.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
The group also called for a higher education budget, which it said should account for at least 6-percent of the country’s gross domestic product, that will be used to improve school facilities and provide teachers with needed support. /cb
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.