An advocacy group on Friday, Jan. 26, welcomed the move of the Department of Education (DepEd) to relieve teachers of administrative tasks to help improve the quality of education in the country.
“The removal of non-teaching duties from our teachers is a step in the right direction in solving our learning crisis,” said Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) Executive Director Justine Raagas.
“It is high time that we let our teachers focus on what they are supposed to do and that is to facilitate learning,” she added.
DepEd, on Jan. 26, issued the policy on the immediate removal of administrative tasks for teachers in public schools.
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Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte, during the presentation of the 2024 Basic Education Report (BER) on Jan. 25, announced that DepEd will be releasing a department order and other policies that will implement the new directives on administrative tasks.
“The deloading should also be significant enough to enable our teachers to focus on teaching–as teachers often perform other ancillary tasks, such as written reports, that cannot be passed easily to an administrative staff,” Raagas said.
Teachers and learning recovery
Meanwhile, PBEd noted that aside from administrative tasks, DepEd must also be clear on teacher participation in the learning recovery programs.
PBEd urged DepEd to “enlist volunteers or para-teachers” in the learning camps that will be implemented so that teachers can also have a break.
“Engaging para-teachers or teaching volunteers is the best way to harness support from all stakeholders so that teachers don't feel that they have to do everything by themselves," Raagas added.
"We have to remember that this is the reason why teachers are not able to bring students up to the level they are supposed to be because of the lack of time to do it, which led to the issue of mass promotion," she added.
Moreover, PBEd also welcomed Duterte’s pronouncement to address issues on teachers’ salaries.
“Teachers play a critical role in our students’ learning and to ensure that we have the best of the best, it is necessary that they are provided with the right support,” Raagas said.
“We enjoin all sectors, to take part in this movement to support teachers, because as what the Vice President herself said–education is everybody's business,” she added.