A few days after naming Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara as the new Education Secretary, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. gave his latest marching order for the Department of Education (DepEd).

The order was to take care of teachers.

President Marcos also instructed DepEd to make sure teachers can sufficiently feed their families.

“So, I said, we have to take care of the teachers. We have to, of course, financial[ly] to make sure that they can feed their families. Kasi we tend to forget sometimes that teachers have families,” President Marcos explained.

The President made the remarks on the sidelines of the distribution of financial assistance in Sulu on Friday. The media asked the President if Angara’s appointment to DepEd would mean policy shift in the department.

“Maybe a little bit,” the President responded.

“We see them just as teachers. They have families and they have to take care of their families. And they cannot teach properly kung inaalala nila ‘yung lagay ng pamilya nila so we have to make sure that they are in good place so that the teachers can concentrate on actual teaching,” he added.

President Marcos also revealed he ordered for the retraining of teachers so they can adapt to the recent developments and technological advancements.

“Kailangan turuan natin ulit. So, that’s what we will do. We will beef up that part of it,” he said.

Further, the government will beef up feeding programs in school to address stunting problem in the country, he added.

During the 17th Cabinet Meeting at the Malacañan Palace on Tuesday, President Marcos said Angara accepted the DepEd Secretary position, which will be vacated by Vice President Sara Duterte on July 19, following her resignation. | PND