Repeated classroom observation proceedings within a school year is causing undue anxiety to teachers, a Makabayan lawmaker revealed, adding such an activity may have caused the death of a mentor last Thursday, January 8.
ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said he mourns the death of Pedro E. Diaz High School educator Agnes Buenaflor in Muntinlupa City who fainted while undergoing classroom evaluation last Wednesday.
Buenaflor, 58, died the next day in a local hospital, leading Tinio to call on the education department to review its classroom observation system under Memorandum No. 89-2025 mandating teachers to undergo periodic walkthrough and full-period classroom observations for up to four times each school year.
“We call on the Department of Education to exercise compassion and immediately review policies that place undue burden on our teachers. Ms. Buenaflor’s death must serve as a wake-up call for systemic change,” Tinio said.
In a video message, Tinio said ACT Teachers Party, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers and various ACT Unions have asked Department of Education (DepEd) secretary Sonny Angara for such a review who in turn promised to look into it.
No change had been made, until Buenaflor’s demise this week.
Tinio mourns their colleague’s death and called DepEd’s classroom evaluation system as “oppressive.”
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Ms. Agnes Buenaflor. Her passing is a profound loss not only to her family and loved ones, but to the entire education community,” Tinio said.
The circumstances surrounding Buenaflor’s death underscore the immense pressure and stress that teachers face under the current evaluation system, Tinio revealed, adding classroom observations have become a source of anxiety rather than genuine professional development.
He explained that teachers’ performance rating for the year depends on classroom evaluations, which in turn affect performance bonuses and promotion.
The DepEd meanwhile said it too mourns Buenaflor said, adding it asked its Muntinlupa Division office to extend assistance to the mentor’s family.
It also clarified that classroom observations no longer serve as the sole basis for evaluating teachers’ performance.
Tinio however questions if such activities truly reflect actual everyday learning situations or provide holistic evaluations of the teacher’s effectiveness.
“Sadly, even though Ms. Buenaflor was an experienced teacher already near the end of her professional service, she nevertheless felt undue stress from the classroom observation,” he said.
Such anxiety is commonly shared by the teaching force, from new hires to veterans, he added.
“We must reform our teacher evaluation systems to truly support professional growth rather than create unnecessary stress and anxiety. No teacher should feel that their life and health are at risk,” the House of Representatives Deputy Minority Floor Leader said.
Tinio urged the DepEd to explore more effective methods of encouraging professional development.
“We call on the Department of Education to exercise compassion and immediately review policies that place undue burden on our teachers. Ms. Buenaflor’s death must serve as a wake-up call for systemic change,” he said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
