Fresh from the excitement of the 2024 Paris Olympics, a group of teachers and education workers gathered at the Department of Education (DepEd) Central Office in Pasig City on Wednesday, Aug. 15, where they held an Olympic-themed protest to urge the agency to discard the “ill-conceived and burdensome” MATATAG curriculum.
"This MATATAG curriculum has turned our schools into arenas of suffering,” said Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines Chairperson Vladimer Quetua.
ACT is urging DepEd to scrap the burdensome MATATAG curriculum, which, according to teachers, has shackled them with excessive workloads.
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https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/30/angara-urged-by-teachers-to-suspend-heavy-teaching-load-orders
“We are weighed down by overwhelming workloads and shortened time allotments for learning areas, forcing us to juggle more students and take on tasks that pull us away from teaching,” Quetua said.
Quetua pointed out that teachers were expected to implement a curriculum built on “shaky ground, lacking evidence-based learning assessments and genuine, democratic consultation” with them and stakeholders.
“We cannot stand by and watch as our education system sinks further into crisis, with unresolved issues like severe and perennial shortages in basic needs and the suffocating economic conditions faced by teachers and education workers dragging us down,” he said.
During the protest, the group also condemned President Marcos’ Executive Order No. 64, which grants tranches of “insignificant” salary increases for teachers and government employees.
The protesters symbolically lifted a MATATAG barbell while being struck by gloves labeled “excessive workload” and “low salaries,” illustrating the grueling challenges imposed by the MATATAG curriculum and the administration's meager salary adjustments.
Despite their overworked conditions, teachers were mockingly awarded medals represented by P50 coins, highlighting the “paltry salary increase” provided by the government.
“Teachers and education workers, much like our athletes who bring honor to our nation, are met not with the recognition they deserve but with mere token gestures,” ACT National Capital Region Union President Ruby Bernardo said.
Instead of a “fair reward,” Bernardo lamented that teachers were handed a meager salary increase—roughly P50 a day—when they have called for an entry-level pay of P50,000 for teachers and P33,000 for Salary Grade 1 employees --- a demand rooted in the family living wage.
“This salary adjustment is a far cry from the remuneration we need and deserve,” she added.
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