Human Rights Online Philippines

DepEd Head Teachers Worried for Possible Loss of Position

The National Head Teachers Association of the Philippines (NaHTAP), an organization of DepEd employees with Head Teachers (HTs) positions in the national plantilla reiterated its call on the DepEd not to dissolve their positions under the E0 174 or the policy to create expanded career progression system for public school teachers.

This is according to Dino Busilig, the groups lead convenor and a head teacher from Batangas province as the proposed implementing rules drafted by DepEd would result in mass demoralization.

Based on recent information, the IRR will be released this January, but the DepEd has not initiated a consultation with the stakeholders, especially the Head Teachers who will be affected by this policy change. We have been patient and we continue to wait for the DepEds call for consultation but it seems that we are waiting for nothing, Busilig exclaimed.

Increase in salaries, first agenda of teachers to incoming VP and DEPED Secertary Inday Sara Duterte

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) hopes to engage the incoming Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Vice President-elect Sara Duterte in a discussion to tackle the teachers’ long overdue demand for salary increase.

“What we ask is beyond increase in our salaries, it’s about rectifying the decades-old mistake of the government,” said Benjo Basas, a Caloocan City teacher and the group’s national chairperson.

Basas argued that teachers’ salaries should be based on the recommendations of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers (RA 4670), a 1966 vintage law created to institutionalize and further protect the rights and welfare of teachers. However, the law that currently governs the salaries of teachers is the salary standardization law (SSL) of 1989 and its latest version, RA 11466 or the SSL-5 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in January 2020.

Teachers question work during school break

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) calls on the leadership of the Department of Education (DepEd) to clarify some of the content of its new ordinance that will extend the work of teachers beyond the school year which will end on June 24, 2022.

“This policy should be clarified because we expect teachers to enjoy a two-month vacation between the closing and opening of school years, we have the right under the law,” said Benjo Basas, national chairperson of TDC.

According to Basas, DepEd Order No. 25, p. 2022 signed by Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan last week seems to ignore the supposed entitlement of two-month vacation of teachers. The Order will require some of the teachers to conduct ‘summer’ or end of the school year classes for children with failing grades in two subjects. Meanwhile, children with low marks of 75 to 79 in any subject must attend enrichment classes. These two interventions will be held from July 24 to August 12.