Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to “think outside the K-12 box” following its directive to prohibit extracurricular activities in schools.
“Extra curricular activities can contribute to learners’ holistic development and provide them different forms of enjoyable activities that also serve as respite from intensive formal academic work. Allowing these only on weekends when learners should be having a break and spending time with their families will only make extracurricular activities burdensome,” said ACT National Chairperson Vladimer Quetua.
DepEd’s decision, according to the teachers’ group, was borne out of the fixation of achieving the “competency list” of the K-12 curriculum. But the teachers reiterated that this system will only be “counterproductive” and eventually cause burn out among learners and instructors.
“ should consider the work-life balance of both teachers so that more effective and relevant learning can happen,” the group furthered.
Earlier this week, Vice President and Education Chief Sara Duterte told teachers to focus on academics to “catch up on the losses” in the past academic years. She added that DepEd will issue an order stating that no extracurricular activities will be allowed this school year and only co-curricular and academic activities will be observed.