TEACHERS are one of the most influential and powerful forces for equity, access and quality in education and key to sustainable global development (UNESCO, 2019).
Let me focus on the phrase “key to sustainable development.” Yes it is correct to say that teachers are the key to the development of one’s ultimate goal in life. Teachers could be your mentor, friend, and facilitator and oftentimes called as your second parents. Teachers are also associated with the terms like patience, dedication, responsibility, leadership and service. All these terms were seen and felt every time teachers served during election period. We know what teachers do inside the classrooms but the way they served during elections had doubled their responsibility. Their lives are at stake as well as the future of the country.
Teachers are always called as the unsung heroes. Well at this moment they should be called the real heroes. I was able to meet a colleague and I was surprised that she had given her time to serve in the midterm election. She told me that she has to wake up at three in the morning in order to arrive at her assigned school at five. The heat, dust, dirt, malfunctioned voting counting machine, inadequate markers; and even rejected votes were all faced by the teachers who served. The challenge was real and that there were instances teachers were yelled at and scolded by the voters. And when the voters were done casting their ballots, saying “thank you” were even hardly heard of.
Voters complained about the long hours of waiting, but we missed to see how the teachers served from dawn to dusk. Teachers even have to pacify irritated voters. Some teachers assigned outside the classrooms became caregivers because they had to assist senior citizens and pregnant women. While those who were assigned in the vote couting machine (VCM) had to patiently explain to the voters on how to shade and how many candidates to vote for.
The worst scenarios I heard over the radio were that there were teachers who went unfed because no meals were provided, they did not get their travel allowance, and they had no time to visit the comfort room because they had to secure the votes. There was even a news flashed on television wherein teachers had to wait for the long queue, sitting along the corridors patiently waiting just to submit their reports. They were obviously tired and hungry but because of their commitment and dedication to accomplish the tasks assigned to them they did not waver.
What broke my heart was when some Commission on Elections (Comelec) representatives scolded those teachers who were submitting their reports. These teachers had sacrificed a lot just to have a smooth sailing election, shame on Comelec. There were even teachers who were not able to go home because of the defective VCMs, yet what did the teachers get?
Yes, teachers were compensated, and the time they served was included in their service credit but how about the safety and dignity of the teachers? When will be the time when teachers will no longer suffer humiliation and difficulty during elections? These are professional teachers that must be covered with respect and dignity.
Comelec should improve their system so as not to allow the teachers to face the backlash of their flub dub.