Assistant Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. France Castro slammed on Thursday the Department of Education's (DepEd) decision to extend the current school year, lamenting that it would also extend the "suffering" of learners, teachers and parents.

"Extending the school year without addressing the basic problems of the Duterte administration's distance learning program would only extend the suffering and hardships of teachers, learners and their parents," Castro said in a statement.

The DepEd announced last Tuesday, March 2, that it is adjusting the calendar for school year 2020-2021 "to allow schools to implement intensive intervention and remediation activities for learners and to give time to teachers for the different learning modalities."

Under its Department Order No. 12 series of 2021, the last day of classes in public elementary and high schools was moved from June 11 to July 10, 2021.

The agency, on the other hand, retracted its plan to shorten the summer break to two weeks following criticisms from teachers, parents and students. Castro said the Deped should listen to stakeholders before imposing policies.

"There is no 'break' in the hardships that the failed blended distance learning brought to learners, teachers and parents until the Department of Education and the Duterte administration addressed the perennial problems of education that were highlighted and were worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic," Castro said.

"If the DepEd genuinely wants to give learners academic ease, it would have provided adequate learning materials and prepared a curriculum that is appropriate for blended distance learning," she suggested.

She also called for a "clear plan" for the safe conduct of limited and voluntary face-to-face classes learning in low-risk areas, as well as the provision of supplemental funds for all teaching and learning resources for distance learning.