The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to identify the teachers who have confirmed COVID-19 positive test results and provide them with financial and medical assistance.
“Instead of tasking field officials to collect details of members of teachers’ organizations, the DepEd would do better to conduct the more relevant survey of teachers infected with the dreaded COVID-19 in view of providing them much needed assistance,” said Benjo Basas, the group’s National Chairperson.
This is one of the proposals of the TDC to the DepEd management to help teachers who are currently struggling with the medical, financial and psycho-social effects of the pandemic. The statement is but a proper reaction to the recent, somewhat clandestine ‘profiling’ of TDC and ACT members ordered by the DepEd higher ups, which according to Secretary Leonor Briones yesterday was “standard requirement.”
The TDC questions primarily the intention, as well as the method, and the timing of the order which was done thru Google forms, Facebook messages and phone calls from field officials without coordinating with their leadership or officially communicating with their office.
“Our teachers are now going through enormous challenges, from lack of learning modules, excessive workload, and financial difficulties, aggravated by the rise in COVID-19 cases in their communities. What they really need now is a caring DepEd leadership, human compassion that could make things more bearable,” Basas exclaimed.
The group also added that the DepEd’s recent prioritization of the week-long YouTube seminar, the order to adopt the four sets of new uniforms, and profiling members of the two vocal teachers’ organizations are proofs that the agency has detached itself from the everyday realities confronting their teachers during this situation of pandemic.
Compelled by the jump in the number of Covid-19 positive teachers, the TDC formally asked the DepEd to provide the data on COVID-19 situation in the entire department, as other agencies and local government units are doing.
“We need to be informed on the extent of COVID-19 infection in the DepEd. How many teachers and employees have so far tested positive, including the active cases, as well as the total number of those who died of the disease? To what can these infections be attributed, and what will be the available forms of assistance for these teachers and personnel? Will the DepEd be at all providing financial or medical assistance to the patients or their families? How is the DepEd planning to deal with the field officials who are violating the DepEd prohibitions on physical reporting under its alternative work arrangement rules? What actions have been taken so far, against officials who violated these rules, which resulted to infections as in the case of Zambales? These are valid questions that demand prompt and honest answers, yet our queries are left unanswered,” Basas explained.
Last weekend, the TDC conducted a survey thru Google Forms participated by 465 respondents, 447 individuals swear that they personally knew of a teacher or DepEd employee who is tested positive with COVID-19 while 18 said that it was confirmed by colleagues. Out of that number, 49 respondents said that they tested positive themselves. On where they possibly could have acquired the virus, 213 said it is uncertain, 65 said that that people got infected in the public places or transportation, 52 said that they were infected in their homes, 54 from the community, while 81 said that they contracted the disease in school or workplace.
As to the condition of the patients, 307 said that they are now recovered, 110 are still active cases, 17 of which are confined in hospitals while 48 have died.
“This survey may not be accurate and can only be used as samples. We will depend on the official data from DepEd once they are released,” Basas said. He also explained that the survey has confirmatory questions like the age, gender or school of the subjects or their names in case it is publicly known or with their consent to ensure the unique identity of the person and avoid double entries.
The respondents also revealed that the DepEd gave zero assistance, apart from occasional offering of prayers, moral support or contact tracing. In most cases, the Bayahinan spirit of voluntary contribution to help one another has been the practice. The TDC again lambasted the DepEd management for belittling the matter by saying that most of the cases were not work-related as they have stated last August 2020, and recently as well, on the cases of five Isabela teachers who died of COVID-19.
“Whether they acquired the virus through community transmission or at home is irrelevant. They are teachers, and the DepEd, their employer has responsibility to them. They serve the government as front liners of education service, which made them even more prone to infection,” Basas ended by citing Section 22 of a vintage Magna Carta for Public School Teachers which states that medical check-up, hospitalization and treatment shall be provided free for the teachers in public schools.
