Metro Manila, Philippines – A group lamented on Thursday the lack of teachers in public schools to carry out the learning recovery program.
Members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers-NCR chapter held a protest in front of the Department of Education central office in Pasig City to air their grievances on the new MATATAG curriculum.
Ruby Bernardo, the group’s president, said the number of mathematics and language teachers is insufficient to carry out the reading programs.
“Walang training ang teachers na maayos dito sa recovery programs na ito. Nangangamba rin kami na hindi kami makatugon doon sa essentially ay ano objective nito marecover ang mga bata,” said Bernardo.
[Translation: Our teachers didn’t have sufficient training for these learning recovery programs. We’re also worried that we can’t fulfill the objectives of the project, which is to help students recover (from learning loss).]
Bernardo said some mathematics teachers exceed the mandated six-hour teaching load because of additional classes.
“Actually iyong mga math natin hindi lang 7-8 loads, sampu hanggang dose sila kasi maliban doon sa kanilang regular math, may tinuturo pa silang National Mathematics program,” she said.
[Translation: Actually, our math teachers don’t just have a 7 to 8 teaching load. They sometimes handle 10 to 12 classes because on top of their regular mathematics subject, they also teach the National Mathematics Programs]
Education Secretary Sonny Angara earlier said he is open to amend the MATATAG agenda, which was initiated by his predecessor Vice President Sara Duterte. It is under pilot implementation for Grades 1, 4, and 7 in the current school year.
Bernardo also pointed out that some teachers are still handling administrative tasks.
“Bagamat tinanggal sa papel iyong aming admin tasks eh hindi naman nagdadagag ng substantial na bilang ng administrative officers, ng non-teaching personnel, education staff, ” she said.
[Translation: Although they removed administrative tasks on paper, they didn’t add a substantial number of administrative officers, non-teaching personnel, and education staff]
In January, Duterte issued a department order that removed administrative work from teachers to maximize their time inside the classrooms.
