By By Ruby Bernardo
Chairperson
Alliance of Concerned Teachers Philippines
The Department of Education’s (DepEd) declaration of a teachers’ wellness break from October 27 to 30 is a hard-won victory for educators’ persistent call to uphold their right to rest and well-being.
Bearing the plight of our fellow teachers on the ground, we led the call for DepEd to declare the mid-school year break for learners as a wellness break for teachers as well. The education system cannot thrive when teachers are exhausted and unwell — especially amid deplorable school conditions, recent calamities, and rising health concerns that have severely affected their physical and mental well-being. This victory is not the result of a single plea, but of our collective action.
Tunay na deserve din nating mga guro at maging ng mga kawani ang panahong makapagpahinga lalo’t hindi naman naiibsan ang ating kalagayang ‘overworked, underpaid, at undersupported.’ We have long suffered from chronic state neglect, worsened by a pandemic and the yearly onslaught of calamities. This wellness break is a small but meaningful victory for teachers. We are glad that the DepEd finally heeded our call to rest, recover, and restore our strength and morale.
However, the measure must be followed by urgent, concrete action — particularly a higher education budget and substantial salary increase for teachers and education workers — to meaningfully improve their living and working conditions, address long-standing education shortages, and resolve the country’s deepening learning crisis.
This break is a good first step, but it cannot be where the DepEd’s concern for teacher welfare ends. We need systemic changes that address the root causes of our teachers’ exhaustion and stress. Panawagan natin ang sapat na badyet sa edukasyon na tutugon sa lahat ng kakulangan at ibigay ang matagal na nating makatwirang panawagang disente at nakabubuhay na sweldo para sa mga guro at kawani upang maibsan ang matinding hirap na dinaranas ng buong sektor.
There can be no genuine wellness for teachers if their salaries remain inadequate and the education sector continues to suffer from chronic underfunding. The wellness break, the group said, should not only serve as a time for rest, but also as a period to regain strength and collective resolve to fight for teachers’ rights and the welfare of the entire education community.
Tulad ng lakas na ipinakita natin sa pakikiisa sa mga pagkilos laban sa korapsyon at paglulunsad ng walkout noong World Teachers’ Day, patuloy tayong titindig para sa sapat na pondo sa dagdag-sweldo at edukasyon. Hindi tayo papayag na may iilang nagpapakasasa sa buwis mula sa ating dugo at pawis, habang tinitipid tayong mga guro at karaniwang mamamayan.