More than 200 groups of teaching and non-teaching personnel, on Thursday, July 21, presented 10 measures to help ensure “education recovery” in the Philippines.

Days before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines, together with more than 200 organizations of teaching and non-teaching personnel urged him to increase teachers’ salaries as well as the country’s education budget.

“Teachers are not paid enough for the job they do. This is also the reason why many teachers take on odd jobs just to make ends meet,” said ACT Philippines Chairperson Vladimer Quetua.

To address this problem, the groups, with a united voice, presented 10 measures, reiterating that this would help ensure “education recovery” in the country. Among these measures were to double the education budget and fulfill the requirements for the safe conduct of face-to-face classes in 100 percent of schools across the country.

This would require schools to employ additional manpower to effectively cut down classes to an “ideal” class size.

Also included in the 10-point proposal were the following: the conduct of student assessments nationwide to determine the nature and extent of the learning crisis, provision of additional “sufficient and quality” teaching and learning resources, as well as to overhaul the K-12 program.

Meanwhile, the teachers then underscored the importance of the restoration of Philippine literature along with the provision of factual Martial Law education to counter historical revisionism and distortion.

Furthermore, the groups likewise urged Marcos to improve and expand the benefits of education workers, enact the Magna Carta for Private School Teachers, and ensure the “enjoyment of academic freedom” of all educators in institutions across the country.

Marcos’ first SONA will be held on Monday, July 25 at the Batasang Pambansa Complex.