Implementation of in-person classes needs ‘more support’, teachers say (Sabong News)
Author
Merlina Hernando-Malipot
Date
APRIL 24 2022
Teachers who were respondents to a survey conducted by a multi-stakeholder group said that the implementation of limited face-to-face classes needs more support — especially from the government.
Based on the survey conducted by the Movement for Safe, Equitable, Quality, and Relevant (SEQuRe) Education on the initial assessment of limited face-to-face classes in 63 schools nationwide, the teacher-respondents said that the lack of sufficient funds to prepare schools for reopening should be addressed in the implementation of the program.
SEQuRe Education said that despite the announcement of the Department of Education (DepEd) that it has allotted P1 billion for the preparations of in-classroom learning, “teacher-respondents to the survey noted the lack of sufficient funds to prepare schools for reopening, which forced them to spend their already meager salaries to meet the requirements” set by DepEd and the Department of Health (DOH).
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“Students’ families also had to expend for their children’s participation in in-classroom learning, especially since their uniforms could no longer fit after two years of school closure,” the group added.
Based on the results of the survey, while 56 to 76 percent of teacher-respondents estimated that families only had to shell out P500 and below, 64 percent in the National Capital Region (NCR) and 88 percent in other regions observed that “families found it difficult to provide for these needs given the financial hardships that families are still suffering under current economic crisis.”
The group added that based on the teachers’ observation, some families are “having financial difficulties in providing for the needs of their children” who are participating in face-to-face classes.
Teacher-respondents also took note of the insufficient learning materials for the conduct of blended learning, the group said.
Through the survey, SEQuRe Education found out that about “one-third of respondents in the NCR and more than half of those in other regions said that there were not enough learning materials available for blended learning.”
The month-long survey conducted in March covered teacher respondents from 63 out of the 13,692 basic education schools nationwide that have opened for limited face-to-face classes from November 2021 until April 2022.
