Education stakeholders in Ilocos Norte on Monday lauded the Marcos administration’s ongoing efforts to put a premium on the welfare of teachers.

In his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said improving the education sector remains a priority of his administration, vowing to focus on learning recovery, mental health, and health services for students, especially those in remote areas.

“Ngayong taon, sinimulan na natin ang Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning o ARAL Program, at pinalalakas din ang Early Childhood Care and Development, na hango sa dalawang mahahalagang batas na ipinasa ninyo rito sa Kongreso (This year, we started the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning or ARAL Program, and strengthened the Early Childhood Care and Development, which stem from two important laws you passed here in Congress),” he said.

The President also promised to address challenges related to classroom shortages, citing plans to add 40,000 classrooms before the end of his term in 2028.

Marcos also assured public school teachers that they will receive overload and overtime compensation starting this school year, while giving them better access to the digital system and equipping them with new laptops.

Listening to the President’s speech, lawyer James Ceasar Ventura, also a teacher in Solsona town, said he found Marcos’ statements regarding teachers “refreshing.”

“President BBM putting teachers at the center of his SONA is refreshing – and long overdue. It’s high time we walk the talk,” he said.

Leonora Melchor, a Grade 1 teacher at the Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School in Batac City, welcomed Marcos’ promise to hire more non-teaching staff to lighten their burden in school.

“The hiring of more non-teaching personnel is beneficial for us. I hope this will be felt in the grassroots at the soonest possible time,” she said.

Meanwhile, Virgilio Julius Manzano, president of the state-run Mariano Marcos State University, said he is particularly interested in the ongoing developments not only in the education sector, but also in agriculture, transportation, and the eGov digitalization project.

He said all these give a clear direction of the current administration’s vision of reform, unity, and a progressive nation built on good governance and inclusive development. (PNA)