The National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) said on Thursday that the Department of Education (DepEd) can use qualified senior citizens to become volunteer instructors, providing a solution to the scarcity of teachers and other school staff.
According to NCSC Chairman Franklin Quijano, a “significant proportion” of senior citizens are “knowledgeable enough” to assist teachers with their homework.
Quijano said, “Our elderly parents and now, senior citizens are our first teachers… they are the best educators, supreme motivators and the greatest assets of our nation and they’re just there waiting to be tapped.”
Seniors can also participate in the DepEd’s Brigada Eskwela (BE) initiative, which brings together volunteers and education stakeholders to help schools get ready for the start of the school year. BE 2018 will continue till August 26.
Sara Duterte, the vice president and education secretary, “promised to evaluate [the plan’s] prominent aspects for prospective inclusion into DepEd’s existing program[s],” according to Quijano, after he submitted a proposal to her.
While there is a provision in the 2022 budget for 10,000 additional teaching items, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers previously stated that 26,000 teaching posts in DepEd had not yet been filled as of February 2021.
Additionally, the DepEd has stated that it intends to increase its non-teaching staff in order to relieve instructors of their administrative duties.
The House of Representatives recently received a bill that would raise the retirement age to 70.
