ACT Teachers Party-list has slammed the Marcos administration for its supposed band-aid solutions to the deepening education crisis in the country​, which include the implementation of hybrid classes and running two or more shifts in congested schools.

Both the party-list's outgoing and incoming representatives, France Castro and Antonio Tinio, respectively, criticized the current administration for its persistent reliance on such a solution, as they warned that it would only worsen the already dire learning conditions in the country.

“Mababa ang functional literacy sa bansa dahil sa mga basic at glaring shortages ng ating education system​ (The functional literacy of students in the country is low because of basic and glaring shortages in our education system),” Castro​ said.

“This school year, we are facing a shortage of 165,000 classrooms and 56,050 teachers, yet the government refuses to address these urgent gaps. Our teachers’ salaries are not even enough for a decent living, and they are forced to handle at least 27.6 million enrollees this year.”

Castro emphasized that the Department of Education​ (DepEd)'s stop-gap measures—such as normalizing large class sizes, imposing additional teaching loads, implementing hybrid modes, and running two or more shifts in congested schools—are aggravating the situation instead of solving it.

“Ang ginagawa ng DepEd para umangkop—malalaking klase, dagdag na teaching load, hybrid modes, at dalawang o higit pang shifts—hindi ito sapat. Sa halip, lalo nitong pinapalala ang learning outcomes ng mga estudyante​ (What the DepEd does to keep up is to hold big classes, add teaching load, implement hybrid modes and apply to or more shifts. These are not enough. Instead, they only worsen the learning outcomes of our students),” Castro asserted.

Tinio ​hit the administration for failing to provide structural solutions to the education crisis.

​The chronic shortages of classrooms and teachers are a direct result of the government’s neglect and underfunding. DepEd​'s so-called adjustments only mask the real problems and pass the burden onto teachers and students,​ he said.

“We need comprehensive reforms and significant state investment in education,​ he added.

​T​hey then called on the Marcos administration to prioritize genuine reforms and sufficient funding for the education sector​. They reconked that if the government was serious about uplifting the future of our youth, it must address the root causes.

​Build more classrooms, hire more teachers, and ensure living wages for education workers. Anything less is a betrayal of our children​'s right to quality education​, Castro said.