Philippines
Return of teachers to onsite work is school admin's call, says Senate bet Diokno
Return of teachers to onsite work is school admin's call, says Senate bet Diokno
Senatorial candidate and human rights lawyer Jose Manuel 'Chel' Diokno on Monday, April 18, urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to let school administrators decide whether to require teachers to return to onsite work despite the bad internet connection in most school premises.
In a statement, Diokno said that until there is no efficient internet connection in the schools, DepEd should let school administrators decide on the onsite work of teachers.
“Sila ang mas nakakaalam at nakakaintindi sa tunay na sitwasyon (They know and understand the true situation) on the ground, lalo pa at magkakaiba ang sitwasyon sa bawat paaralan (especially that situations are different in each school),” he added.
The veteran lawyer argued that classes are still virtual for now, and teachers would benefit if onsite work is not mandatory.
This way, Diokno said that teachers can avoid traffic, save on transportation fees, have access to a better internet connection, and be more comfortable while teaching at home.
He was referring to DepEd Order No. 29 series 2022 or Work Arrangements in the Department of Education During the Imposition of Alert Level 1 System for Covid-19 Response, which requires the 100 percent onsite reporting of teaching and non-teaching areas under Alert Level 1, or the “new normal” for the government.
READ: Suspend mandatory physical reporting of all teachers, DepEd told
Classes are still going to be virtual, while there are a handful of schools that will transition into hybrid learning or a mix of face-to-face and virtual classes.
Reports on social media showed some teachers needing to work along school hallways where the internet connectivity is less intermittent than inside the classrooms.
However, this poses a problem for students in the virtual class because of background noise from other teachers and vehicles passing by the school grounds.
The group Teachers’ Dignity Coalition had asked DepEd to recall the order, not because its members are against face-to-face classes but because teachers were not consulted on the matter.