House bill filed for P1,500 monthly internet allowance for public school teachers
House Bill 7034 has been filed at the House of Representative seeking to give teachers in public school an internet allowance amounting to P1,500 to aid them in the proposed blended learning for the upcoming school year.
“The annual chalk allowance for teachers will not be sufficient to provide a stable connection that will last a whole school year. Teachers are also forced to find ways to make sure that they have necessary gadgets to be able to comply with what is being asked from them,” ACT Teachers party-list Representative France said.
“Providing public school teachers a monthly P1,500 for internet connection would greatly help them cope with the demands of the ‘new normal’ imposed by the Department of Education and not worry about out of pocket expenses,” she added.
Despite the COVID-19 threat, DepEd has to continue classes through distance learning as face-to-face classes are prohibited to avoid the spreading of the virus. It also removed around 60% of the curriculum to adjust the new learning approach.
DepEd has been preparing various ways to deliver education through self-learning modules, tv and radio, and the Internet.
According to Castro, DepEd should also secure funding for materials and needs of teachers upon resumption of classes.
“Hindi dapat kakalimutan ng kagawaran ng edukasyon na mayroon pa ring pandemiya na nagaganap kaya naman ang mga polisiya na ginagawa at iniimplementa niya ay dapat ring nakaayon sa sitwasyon ng ating bansa,” she said.
“Hindi maaaring pipilitin nitong magsimula ang bagong taon sa paaralan na pababayaan na lamang ang mga guro na maghanap ng paraan para maitawid ang mga pilit na pinapagawa ng ahensya sa kanila,” she added.
Castro pressed her colleagues at the House of Representatives to immediately approve the bill so that “no teacher or student shall be burdened by education just because they do not have a stable internet connection.”
Other authors of the said bill are Bayan Muna party-list Representatives Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, and Eufemia Cullamat, Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan party-list Representative Sarah Elago.
