While they welcomed the provision in the signed 2021 budget increasing the annual teaching allowance from P3,500 to P5,000, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the amount is still “totally short” for teachers’ expenses for distance education. (READ: FAST FACTS: DepEd’s distance learning)

“The amount can no longer suffice [for] the enormous expenses and needs of our public school teachers due to the ill-prepared implementation of the DepEd’s (Department of Education) distance education,” ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio told Rappler in a Viber message on Wednesday, December 30.

“The P5,000 annual allowance is totally short for teachers’ expenses for internet load, cellphone load, printers and ink, and the increase [in] electricity bills,” he added.

The DepEd on Wednesday lauded President Rodrigo Duterte and lawmakers for increasing the budget for teaching and connectivity allowances to assist public school teachers and students during the pandemic.

“With this positive development, we believe that our lawmakers will continue to support our initiatives for the welfare of our teachers and learners and the improvement of education in the country,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said.

Since the opening of classes on October 5, teachers from public schools have taken it upon themselves to launch donation drives to raise funds for bond paper and printers for the reproduction of learning modules.

While schools have a budget allocation for the shift to distance learning, teachers said this budget can be easily depleted due to the sheer number of modules that need to be printed. 

“Lalabas na P83 a month lang ang alokasyon para sa communication at internet allowance ng guro sa 2021. Sa idinagdag na P1,500 sa teaching supplies allowance, ikinarga rin dito ang P500 na medical allowance. Samakatwid, P1,000 lamang talaga para sa buong taon ang laan para sa communication allowance,” Basilio said.

(It turns out that only P83 per month is allocated for the communication and internet allowance of teachers in 2021. In the additional P1,500 given for teaching supplies, P500 is allotted specifically for medical allowance. Therefore, only P1,000 is really allocated for communication allowance for one whole year.)

Basilio reiterated their call for a P1,500 monthly internet allowance and laptop provisions for teachers.

Schools in the country opened in the middle of the pandemic using distance learning – a mix of online learning, modules, and TV/radio programs – following Duterte’s directive to suspend face-to-face classes until a coronavirus vaccine becomes widely available. – Rappler.com