As the nation celebrates World Teachers’ Day, E-Net Philippines joins teachers and advocates of quality education in calling for due recognition of the teachers’ plight at a time when our country is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.
We remember this day as the anniversary of the signing of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendations concerning the Status of Teachers, which contributed a great deal to the legislation of the Republic Act 4670 or the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers. The law sets the rights and responsibilities of teachers, their professional development, employment conditions, among others. It also contains numerous recommendations for teachers’ participation in educational decisions through social dialogue and negotiation with educational authorities.
Complementing this landmark achievement, the World Teachers’ Day also commemorates the adoption, in 1997, of the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher Education Personnel. This defines the rights and responsibilities of higher education teaching and research personnel.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on education recognizes the role of teachers as key to the achievement of the 2030 Education Agenda. Indeed, the teachers’ role is crucial in reinventing the future of learning and meeting the global education targets, more so in this time of health crisis.
Teachers have to change abruptly from face-to-face to remote learning. They have learned new pedagogies, adapt to technology and other modalities of teaching. The issue of connectivity, availability of learning resources, online safety, and mental health affect not only teachers but students and non-teaching personnel as well.
The current pandemic highlights the need for the government to address the problems and needs of teachers. However, the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers (RA 4670) that supposedly will guarantee the rights and wellbeing of teachers has not been implemented properly or has been ignored.
Teachers have been facing various challenges even before the pandemic outbreak. The status of the teaching profession has been in decline because of the low pay that deters the entry of young professionals and the apprehension that technology – like artificial intelligence and automation – will eventually replace teachers. They have to deal with the pressing problems of money, technology and security.
Despite the challenges, teachers are in the forefront of providing the educational need of the people – from preparing for school opening, undergoing training and conducting simulations, to reimagining how to mitigate the learning gaps in the most essential learning competencies. They also reach out to support the marginalized, disadvantaged and vulnerable learners, especially in remote areas.
E-Net Philippines believes that the creation of a strong enabling learning environment by the government is crucial in supporting the critical roles teachers play in the COVID-19 response and recovery.
The E-Net Philippines therefore calls on the government to heed the following demands of the teachers and act on them with haste:
- Reduce their workload. Hire teaching assistants, if needed, to do the paper works.
- Allocate budget for hygiene, hardship pay and hazard pay. The Magna Carta stipulates the payment of at least 25% of teacher’s salary as special hardship allowance.
- Provide for internet connection, gadgets, and power allowances for online teaching.
- Provide work or financial assistance to teachers rendered jobless due to COVID-19 lockdown and closure of schools.
