A teachers’ group has raised concern over persistent and worsening workload pressures in public schools under the three-term school calendar, saying reforms intended to streamline the academic year are being offset by additional program demands and long-standing staffing shortages.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines said field reports and survey data show that 70 percent of public school teachers are handling six or more teaching loads, while 75 percent are managing classes of 31 to 50 learners.

For ACT, the numbers point to a system that has failed to meaningfully reduce classroom strain despite repeated policy assurances.

The Department of Education earlier implemented the three-term academic calendar, a reform introduced as part of broader efforts to improve learning recovery, reduce congestion in school schedules, and streamline assessment periods by reducing grading cycles.

Alongside this shift is the rollout of the ARAL Program, a national learning recovery initiative designed to provide targeted interventions for students who are struggling academically following pandemic-related disruptions. 

But ACT said its field validation suggests a growing gap between that design and actual implementation in schools.

ACT Chairperson Ruby Bernardo said teachers are being drawn into ARAL implementation despite earlier assurances that the program would be handled primarily by hired tutors funded through a multibillion-peso allocation.

DepEd has earmarked around ₱8.9 billion for ARAL and previously indicated plans to deploy hundreds of thousands of tutors nationwide to support learning recovery efforts without adding to teachers’ workloads.

However, ACT said school-level implementation has been hampered by delays in hiring, uneven deployment across regions, and reliance on existing personnel to meet program targets.

This, Bernardo said, is the reason teachers are raising alarm: ARAL, instead of functioning as a separate support system, is being absorbed into regular teaching assignments in many schools.

“Nasaan na ang pangako ng DepEd na hindi na ikakarga sa mga guro ang ARAL Program? Nasaan na ang inaasahang 440,000 ARAL tutors? Nasaan na ang P8.9 bilyong pondo ng programa?” Bernardo said. 

“Hindi na nga nababawasan ang bigat ng trabaho at dami ng bata sa bawat klase, ipapasan pa sa amin ang programang kami na naman ang abonado at walang karampatang kompensasyon,” she added.

ACT said this has effectively created what it described as a parallel workload structure, where teachers are expected to handle regular classes, large student populations, advisory responsibilities, and ARAL sessions within the same schedule.

The group also flagged what it called inconsistent workload allocation practices under the three-term system, where teachers with seven teaching loads are sometimes exempted from ARAL duties, while those with six loads are automatically included on the assumption they are “underloaded” based on the 360-minute daily teaching standard.

“This logic is deeply flawed. Whether a teacher has six or seven loads, the result is the same: overwork,” Bernardo said.

ACT also disputed claims that the three-term school calendar has meaningfully reduced teacher workload through fewer grading periods, arguing that any intended relief has been offset by the expansion of additional duties such as ARAL implementation.

“What is being presented as workload reduction is contradicted by actual practice. The reduction in grading periods is being negated by the expansion of additional duties,” Bernardo said.

The group stressed that the nearly ₱9-billion ARAL allocation should be used primarily to hire dedicated tutors and support personnel rather than being absorbed into the workload of public school teachers already managing full teaching loads.

ACT also called for stricter enforcement of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, saying it guarantees protection against excessive workloads and should take precedence over administrative issuances such as DepEd Order No. 5, series of 2024, which sets minimum teaching loads.

“The Magna Carta is clear on protecting teachers from excessive workloads. No administrative order should override or dilute its protections,” Bernardo said.

ACT urged the Department of Education to issue clearer guidelines on ARAL implementation, ensure the separation of program duties from regular teaching loads, and accelerate the hiring and deployment of dedicated personnel for learning recovery.

“As the new school year unfolds, teachers are being pushed beyond sustainable limits,” Bernardo said. ###