Pay hike for teachers pushed

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara is pushing for the immediate passage of a bill that seeks to increase the salary of teachers in public elementary and secondary schools.

This developed as the country celebrates today World Teachers’ Day and the culmination of the National Teachers’ Month, which began last Sept. 5.

“As we celebrate our teachers’ role in the society and nation building, most especially as molders of our children’s future, we should also give priority to the interests and welfare of our hardworking teachers,” Angara said.

“Public school teachers are the heart of the Philippine public school system but they are among the most underpaid workers given their workload and service in the society. They receive a basic salary... not commensurate to their contribution,” he added.

Angara’s Senate Bill No. 61 aims to upgrade the minimum salary grade (SG) level of teachers from SG 11 to 19. If passed, the minimum salary of public school teachers will nearly double from its current monthly base pay of P18,549 to P33,859.

“I have filed this measure in the Lower House and I will continue to push for it here in the Upper House as one of our top priority bills. The salary increase, which will give relief to the 3.2 million financially burdened teachers, is long overdue. They deserve more than what they presently get,” Angara said.

He noted that the relatively low salaries received by public school teachers have been a major disincentive for them to improve their skills in teaching and pursue further education and training.

He also lamented that public schools have failed to attract the best and the brightest education graduates from top colleges and universities because of the unattractive salary levels, preventing the public education system from benefiting from the knowledge and expertise of outstanding teachers.