THE DEATH of Agnes Buenaflor, a dedicated public high school teacher in Muntinlupa City who collapsed and died during a scheduled classroom observation should not be dismissed as an unfortunate medical incident. It should be treated for what it truly is: a warning sign of a system that has turned teacher evaluation into a source of fear rather than professional growth.
Under DepEd Memorandum No. 089, Series 2025, teachers are required to undergo two full-period classroom observations per school year as part of the Performance Management and Evaluation System, formerly known as the Results-based Performance Management System. These observations must be scheduled at least three days in advance, and the policy has recently introduced short, non-rated “formative walkthroughs” to provide feedback without affecting formal performance ratings
As a private school head for the past 24 years, I am not a big fan of classroom observations. On paper, these observations are “supportive” and “formative.” In reality, many teachers experience them as high-stakes examinations where one class period can define an entire year’s worth of work.
Go ask any teacher what observation day feels like. You will hear stories of sleepless nights, rehearsed lesson “scripts,” borrowed visual aids, and classes that feel more like stage performances than authentic learning experiences. The goal is no longer to teach well, but to perform well for the observer. Evaluating teachers under a checklist or rubric compels them to deliver a 50-minute performance that does not in any way reflect day-to-day teaching realities.
This culture did not develop by accident. School heads, supervisors, and even central office officials have normalized the idea that rigid rubrics, checklist compliance, and flawless delivery matter more than real classroom challenges.
The Muntinlupa tragedy exposes what educators have long whispered: the system prioritizes paperwork over people. It often treats teachers like machines rather than human beings. It measures them without fully accounting for overcrowded classrooms, limited resources, emotionally vulnerable students, and the personal struggles teachers themselves carry.
Observation, when used properly, can be a powerful tool for growth. But when it becomes a basis for ranking, pressure, and punishment, it loses its educational value and becomes institutionalized stress. It must serve teachers and not burden them.
Secretary Sonny Angara says the DepEd is now reviewing the policy. This is a welcome step, but reviewing procedures alone is not enough. What truly needs reexamination is the mindset behind them.
Why should one observed lesson outweigh months of dedication?
Why are teachers judged more for form than substance?
Why is compliance rewarded more than compassion?
Teachers are not performers in a show. They are second parents, mentors, counselors, coaches and front-liners in shaping the nation’s future. When the system reduces them to data points on a rubric, the cost is not only professional burnout but also physical, emotional, and moral harm. This must stop.
Evaluation should be humane, holistic, and grounded in trust. Classroom observations should focus on coaching, not control. Feedback should build confidence, not fear. All school leaders must remember that authority does not exist to intimidate but to uplift.
The life lost in Muntinlupa must not fade into just another headline. It should become the turning point where education finally chose people over procedures.
