Amid clamor from teachers, DepEd Spokesperson and Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla maintained “there is no basis to give them internet or load allowance for now.”
Teachers have been requesting for the allowance with the DepEd implementing the Blended/Distance Learning this coming school year.
In the set-up, teachers need to perform their tasks remotely using the Internet. To avoid face-to-face interaction, they are also to communicate with students and parents through text or calls.
Sevilla said the DepEd is still coordinating with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on the “adjustment and policy guideline that we can use to reprogram our plan and budget to accommodate funding for this need.”
She further noted the DepEd has already released a cash allowance of P3,500 each for eligible public school teachers since June.
The cash allowance, formerly called “Chalk Allowance,” is usually given to public teachers before the school opening of every year.
This year, DepEd inserted a provision specifically citing the needs of teachers as they prepare for the implementation of the Learning Continuity Plan (LCP) should be covered in the allowance.
As defined by DepEd, the allowance shall cover the “expenses of teachers for the purchase of teaching supplies and materials, tangible or intangible, for the implementation or conduct of various modes of learning delivery.”
A total of P3.185 billion was allotted for the cash allowance as included in the General Appropriations (GAA) for 2020.
The cash allowance, Sevilla explained, is given to all public school teachers with at least one teaching load in schools and learning centers and who are in service at DepEd as of May 31 of the current school year.
It is also given to to all permanent and provisional teachers, including Alternative Learning System (ALS) Mobile Teachers and District ALS Coordinators (DALSCs), in all public elementary, junior, and senior high schools, and learning centers, who are in service at DepEd as of May 31 of the current year, and assigned with at least one teaching load in the coming school year.