A teachers group urged the government to hire private school teachers who have been displaced due to the temporary closure of schools caused by the pandemic.

In a statement on Thursday, September 10, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) said “private schools are partners of the public school system” in delivering education to Filipinos.

“[They] are not in a competition…. The schools as institutions and the teachers as individuals should be assisted by the government in these tough times,” TDC said.

This comes after the Department of Education (DepEd) reported on Wednesday that a total of 748 small private schools – those that have student population of 100 and below – are suspending operations this year due to lack of enrollees, affecting 3,233 teachers and 40,345 students.

Aside from hiring the displaced teachers, TDC stressed there should be a “comprehensive assistance package” especially for the small private schools that are dependent on the enrollment fees for their operation, and mission schools in far-flung areas that serve lesser fortunate communities.

According to the TDC, they have been receiving reports that class size in public schools in Metro Manila and Calabarzon could range from 50 to 70. 

“To have 50 students in a single class, in whatever form of distance learning modality – online or  modular would be very difficult and demanding – physically, emotionally and mentally,” TDC said.

A class size of not more than 25 students in intermediate and secondary; 20 for primary and 15 for kindergarten would be ideal, TDC said.

The group called on the government to either subsidize small private schools or immediately hire the displaced teachers to “evenly distribute the workloads.”

“This may decrease the enrollment in the already congested public schools,” TDC said.

TDC also appealed to the government to structure the hiring process so that positions that are included in 2020 budget could be filled up immediately prior to the October 5 class resumption. 

“This, of course, would need funds, that’s why we address our appeal to Congress to apportion the required budget,” TDC said.

As of September 11, a total of 2,050,797 private school students have registered for the classes this year. This figure, however, is just 46% of last year’s 4.4 million enrollees in private institutions.

In a Rappler talk interview in July, Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (Cocopea) managing director Joseph Noel Estrada raised concerns over the “alarmingly low” turnout of enrollees for this year.

DepEd has allowed private schools to open classes before October 5, provided they would use the distance learning approach. (READ: DepEd: Private schools can start classes before October 5 using distance learning)

As of Thursday, the Philippines – despite having the longest lockdowns in the world – still has the highest number of COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia with 248,947 cases. Over 58,000 of those are active cases. –Rappler.com