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The new education minister also promised to improve the teacher promotion system and teaching load
MANILA, Philippines — Although new Education Secretary Sonny Angara vetoed a proposal to increase the entry-level salary of teachers to P50,000, he expressed confidence that teachers will receive better compensation packages under the Marcos administration.
“It’s just a matter of time and how many will increase, but I have confidence in the Marcos administration. Their wages will increase,” Angara said this on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony at Malacañang Palace on Friday, July 19. (It is just a matter of how much and when to raise it, but I believe that the money will be raised during the Marcos administration.)
Improving teachers’ welfare was one of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directives to Angara. The President stressed that the government should provide financial support to teachers who need to support their families.
Teachers’ groups have been asking the government for better salary packages. Currently, teachers with the Teacher 1 title receive a monthly salary of 27,000 pesos. Over the years, many of them have left the country in search of better salaries and working conditions.
But Angara said giving teachers a 23,000-peso salary increase is impossible, adding that the government cannot afford it.
“Honestly speaking, if the P23,000 (increase) is multiplied by 900,000 (teachers), that’s even higher than the national budget.” (If we give them an additional 23,000 pesos, multiplied by 900,000 teachers, the total amount will be higher than the national budget, to be honest.)
In addition to offering better pay packages, education chiefs have pledged to improve the professional development environment for teachers.
“We have heard complaints that they are only 15 years old and they are only first-class teachers. So, we need to improve the government’s promotion system. Let’s see ‘their benefits, their teaching load,” Angara made the remarks during another event in Quezon City on Saturday, July 20.
“We have heard complaints that some teachers have been in the position for 15 years but are still at the teacher level 1. Therefore, we will revise the government’s promotion system. We will check their benefits and teaching load.
Recognizing that teachers are the biggest input into student learning, Angara has pledged to provide more training to teachers to improve the quality of their teaching.
according to World Bank 2016 studyteachers’ knowledge and the way they teach a subject are “important determinants of learning outcomes for Filipino students.” The study showed that “primary and secondary school teachers have low knowledge of most subjects.”
For example, a World Bank study showed that high school math teachers only answered 31% of questions “completely correctly,” far less than half of the questions.
“Because the tests are so tightly integrated with the curriculum, the findings suggest that teachers face significant challenges in teaching a significant portion of the current K-12 curriculum,” the study states.
Angara succeeded Vice President Sara Duterte as education secretary. She resigned on June 19, effectively leaving the Marcos cabinet. Duterte had said she was resigning “Out of concern for teachers and Filipino youth” – Rappler.com
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