Angara seeks 80% hike in teachers’ pay

A senator is pushing for the salary of public school teachers to be increased by almost 80 percent, bringing their monthly pay to almost P22,000.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, who introduced the measure, said it is not only aimed at providing an attractive compensation for members of the academe compared to those in the private sector but also to address the gap in the number of those practicing the teaching profession in public schools.

“By failing to provide attractive compensation, we are unable to recruit qualified, competent teachers. Often, we lose those already in service. This degrades the quality of education we offer our youth. We have to pull the plug on mediocrity in our bureaucracy, starting with our education system,” Angara said.

The chairman of the Senate finance committee is proposing to raise the salary grade of public school teachers to SG13, which corresponds to P21,293 – up by 77 percent from the current salary level of teachers.

Angara said this will be key to making the country’s educational system competitive.

“Its impact in education is even greater and far-reaching. Our education is only as good as our teachers. In public schools, we see unqualified teachers repeat formulas and equations from textbooks to perplexed, if not disinterested students. This lack of credentials in many public school teachers has led to a decreasing quality of education in our schools, and as a consequence, the waning competitiveness of our students,” he said.

A 2006 study conducted by the Civil Service Commission revealed a huge gap in the salaries of public sector employees and their counterparts in the private sector. –Angie M. Rosales, Daily Tribune