The death of a Grade 4 pupil after a school-based deworming activity has reignited concerns over the lack of health personnel in Philippine public schools, with the country's largest teachers' union on Monday saying the tragedy exposed systemic failures that have long forced educators to take on responsibilities beyond teaching.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the death of a learner from Hugo Perez Elementary School-Annex in Trece Martires City, Cavite should prompt the government to confront what it described as decades of underinvestment in public education, particularly the shortage of school nurses, guidance counselors and other support staff.

"The heartbreaking incident is an alarming reminder of the consequences of an underfunded and neglected public education system," ACT said.

The student from Hugo Perez Elementary School-Annex in Trece Martires City, Cavite died on 3 July, a day after participating in a school-based deworming program conducted in coordination with the city health office. 

The Department of Education (DepEd) earlier said initial medical findings indicated the child died from an infection that progressed to septic shock, while authorities continue investigating whether the death was related to the deworming activity.

The union argued that many public schools continue to operate without sufficient health professionals, leaving teachers to perform tasks that should be handled by trained personnel.

"For decades, unresolved shortages of teachers and qualified education support personnel have forced schools to operate without enough school nurses, guidance counselors and other essential professionals," it said.

Teachers have increasingly been assigned duties ranging from health monitoring to administrative work, ACT said, adding that educators should not be held responsible for incidents arising from structural deficiencies in the education system.

ACT renewed its call on the Marcos administration to increase education spending to at least 6% of the country's gross domestic product, hire more school nurses, guidance counselors and other education support personnel, and reduce teachers' non-teaching duties.

The organization said addressing those shortages was essential to ensuring that schools can respond effectively to learners' health and safety needs.

DepEd has urged the public to avoid speculation while the investigation continues, saying the results of laboratory examinations and the official medical findings would determine the exact cause of the child's death. 

The department has also said it is cooperating with the Department of Health and local authorities in reviewing the incident.###