Teachers appeal to DepEd to extend work-from-home arrangement so they don’t have to ‘walk-from-home’
Updated June 19, 2020, 1:48 PM
A teachers’ group on Friday appealed to the Department of Education (DepEd) to extend the work-from-home (WFH) arrangement for teachers and other DepEd personnel whose tasks are not essential to skeleton work and cannot hinder the operation of schools or offices.
The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), a 30,000-strong group, made an appeal to DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones to consider the extension of the current work-from-home arrangement of teachers and other staff especially in areas that are still under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ).
Since teachers and other personnel of DepEd were asked to render services starting June 1, they were directed to work-from-home except those who were authorized by local DepEd officials to form part of the skeleton work group in schools. In a revised work arrangement guidelines issued by DepEd, the WFH arrangement was extended only until June 21. Teachers and personnel may be required to physically return to work starting Monday, June 22.
In a letter sent to Briones, TDC Secretary General Emmalyn Policarpio said that “many of our teachers were ordered to report physically on Monday while there is no plan to provide for transportation for those who do not own private vehicles.”
According to DepEd Order Number 11, s. 2020 or the Revised Guidelines on Alternative Work Arrangements in the Department of Education During the Period of State of National Emergency Due to COVID-19 Pandemic released last June 15, the status quo on work arrangements of DepEd personnel will remain in force until June 21. On Monday, June 22, teachers may be required to report physically.
Policarpio, who is also a teacher from Valenzuela, said that all the tasks required from teachers during this period may be done at home as what was done in the first three weeks of enrollment, hus, “there is no need for physical reporting for our teachers, whose main task is to teach.”
The TDC expressed concern that “many teachers may not comply with the physical reporting option” in localities placed under the GCQ like in Metro Manila and most parts of Luzon, Visayas, and some cities in Mindanao.
President Duterte extended the GCQ in several areas, including Metro Manila up to June 30 while the rest of the country remains under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ), except for the cities of Cebu and Talisay which are now under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) and Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ), respectively.
“We just want to clarify the implementation of required physical reporting in connection with the locality’s community quarantine status,” Policarpio said. In particular, she noted that teachers, both in cities and provinces placed under GCQ, may not be able to travel from their homes to their workplace because of limited or non-access to public transportation.
While there are recommended transportation arrangements like shuttle services or carpooling in the said DepEd Order, Policarpio wondered how could this be arranged with only two days remaining. She also noted that many teachers in Metro Manila reside either in CALABARZON or Central Luzon which are placed under GCQ and do not have an operational public transportation system.
Policarpio said that because classes, online or modular, will start in August, the teachers’ main tasks now, aside from enrollment, will be the writing of modules and participation in the training and webinars conducted in partnership with DepEd. “All of these can be done at home and we need not to go to school to accomplish such,” she said. “Otherwise, if we will be required to report physically, it will be a ‘walk from home’ instead of work from home,” she added.
The TDC also asked the DepEd management to hold a virtual dialogue with them to discuss the issues and concerns of the teachers in preparation for class opening.
