A teachers’ group on Monday said that students’ safety and welfare are directly linked to class size, following the school shooting incident in Tacloban City. “When classrooms contain fifty or sixty learners, meaningful guidance, supervision, and intervention become far more difficult,” Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines Chairperson Ruby Bernardo said in a statement reported by BusinessWorld.
The group argued that overcrowded classrooms compromise the ability of teachers to monitor student behavior and intervene in potential conflicts, thereby increasing risks to safety. The incident in Tacloban, which left several injured, has reignited calls for the government to address the chronic shortage of classrooms and teachers in the country.
ACT urged the Department of Education to reduce class sizes to a manageable level, invest in school security measures, and hire additional guidance counselors. The group also called for a comprehensive review of safety protocols in public schools to prevent future incidents.