“Overworked and Underpaid:” Focus on Public School Teachers’ Woes

CHEERS TO the Philippine Daily Inquirer for its special report on public school teachers who at 800,000 comprise the largest sector in the bureaucracy. Moving away from the usual shortage of classrooms, the lack of materials and the poor quality of facilities, the article delves into their plight as professionals working within a system plagued by problems.

The Inquirer’s “Teachers press Duterte on pay hike: ‘We are clinging to a knife’s edge’” calls attention to the financial pressures that have driven teachers into a collective debt amounting to at least PHP300 billion. It also noted failed efforts by both the executive and legislative to improve teachers’ financial status.

Reporter Matthew Reysio Cruz contrasted the interminable delays in raising teachers’ pay with the fast pay hikes of those working in other government sectors, particularly the military and police. He said this has created a paradox: Education gets the largest share of the national budget, but teachers hardly benefit from the allocation.

Cruz recalled President Rodrigo Duterte had spoken publicly about a pay hike for teachers at least nine times since 2015 when he had not yet declared his candidacy for the top post. But three years into his term, his administration has yet to implement any increase. Cruz discussed in detail Duterte’s inconsistent statements on the issue, and the changing timeframe for the increase each time he talked about it. The 17^th Congress proposed two bills to raise teachers’ salaries, but neither has gone beyond the committee level.

The Aquino administration ordered pay raises for government but teachers hardly felt the benefit of the increase. Inquirer referred to Executive Order (EO) 201, contrasting the 11.9 increase given to an entry-level teacher and the salary increases given to the lawmakers at 186 percent and to the president at 233 percent. Citing the observation made by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), the report pointed out that with the cumulative inflation rate, the real value of current teachers’ salaries is now less than before the EO was signed.

Cruz interviewed a Manila-based Filipino teacher and a Cotabato City-based special education (SPED) teacher to get firsthand accounts of the problem. Teachers’ debt build up given the expenses they must shoulder: classroom supplies that are not sufficiently covered by the “chalk allowance” they receive. They also end up providing for students’ needs, such as food, just to ensure that they continue to stay in school. One teacher also opened up space in her home to accommodate children with special needs.

The article recounted the Department of Education’s side. Annalyn Sevilla, DepEd Undersecretary for Finance, said the agency had been focusing on implementing mandated benefits. But Sevilla told the Inquirer that any salary increase would be determined by the Finance and Budget departments. Cruz said that Leonor Briones, Education Secretary, “has generally taken a hands-off stance on the issue.”

Cruz noted solutions suggested by France Castro, Representative of ACT Teachers Party-list, and Raymond Basilio, ACT secretary general, who called for intensified tax collection and re-direction of funds from other programs.

The problem does not go back only to the failings of the two administrations noted by Cruz. But the report has refreshed public memory with the urgency of addressing the problems of the public school system, including longstanding neglect of teachers’ needs. With proper emphasis, he scored the skewed priorities that seem fixated on keeping the military and police happy.