The Teachers' Dignity Coalition has urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to hire displaced private school teachers this school year.
They made the appeal after the DepEd reported that there are 3,233 teachers who will lose their jobs after 748 private schools nationwide temporarily stopped their operations for the school year (SY) 2020-2021.
“The schools as institutions and the teachers as individuals should be assisted by the government in these tough times,” said TDC National Chairperson Benjo Basas.
Basas noted that private schools are considered as partners of the public school system in the delivery of education service to the Filipino and they are not competition.
“Moreso, teachers in private educational institutions are part of the working-class -- the men and women who labor to keep the economy going and among those that were severely hit by the socio-economic crisis following the pandemic,” he added.
To help teachers who were displaced, Basas noted the need for a comprehensive assistance package especially for the small private schools that are dependent on the enrollment fees for their operation and the mission schools in far-flung areas that cater to the least fortunate communities.
“The government may think of some sort of subsidy and incentives,” Basas said. “This may decrease the enrollment in the already congested public schools,” he added.
Citing data from the DepEd, Basas noted that less than 50 percent of those expected to enroll in private schools have enlisted for this year. As of Sept. 11, DepEd national enrollment data showed there are 2.05 million enrollees in private schools or 47.63 percent of the enrollment in SY 2019-2021 at 4.3 million.
TDC said this could mean that many of private school clients have migrated to their public counterparts following the crisis.
“Because of this mass migration, our public schools will experience a sudden rise in enrollment, at least in some specific areas, that will eventually be the cause of heavy workloads for our teachers who are now still trying to cope with the new teaching modalities,” Basas said.