MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto announced on Saturday his proposal to add four new ranks for public school teachers to close the salary gap in the Department of Education (DepEd) plantilla system.
"Nearly 772,000 public teachers are faced with a career roadblock because of a curable problem in the DepEd plantilla system.
"Many are stranded for years, or even forever, in deadend positions where promotion is delayed or impossible because of missing rungs in the DepEd career ladder," Recto said.
In a statement, Recto proposed to create Teacher IV, V, VI, VII positions, with the Salary Grades 14, 15, 16, 17 respectively. The basic starting monthly pay of the proposed Teacher IV, based on the current payscale, is P27,755; Teacher V, P30,531; Teacher VI, 33,584; and Teacher VII, P36,942.
SEE ALSO: Duterte vows teachers' wage hike will be more than P30k and will happen this year
Recto stressed that most of the teachers are in the three lowest ranks:
In the current system, the next to the ladder are Master Teacher I (SG 18, P40,637); Master Teacher II (SG 19, P 45,269), at Master Teacher III (SG 20, P51,155).
"Clearly, there is a P15,000-monthly pay and a four-salary grade gap between a Teacher III and a Master Teacher I.
"One official reason often given on why only a few Teacher III holders eventually make it to the Master Teacher items is the lack of budget," he said.
He noted the "dearth" in master teachers compared to the hundreds of thousands in lower ranks: there are 39,950 Master Teacher I, 15,828 Master Teacher II, and only 65 Master Teacher III.
"Kaya ilang dekada ang hihintayin bago makatawid sa Master Teacher. Ang biro nga ng mga guro: Dalaga ng pumasok saDepEd; ngayon lola na, pero Teacher III pa rin. Compared to their long wait, the ‘Ang Probinsyano’ series breezes by in a nanosecond," Recto said.
— The Summit Express
"Nearly 772,000 public teachers are faced with a career roadblock because of a curable problem in the DepEd plantilla system.
"Many are stranded for years, or even forever, in deadend positions where promotion is delayed or impossible because of missing rungs in the DepEd career ladder," Recto said.
In a statement, Recto proposed to create Teacher IV, V, VI, VII positions, with the Salary Grades 14, 15, 16, 17 respectively. The basic starting monthly pay of the proposed Teacher IV, based on the current payscale, is P27,755; Teacher V, P30,531; Teacher VI, 33,584; and Teacher VII, P36,942.
SEE ALSO: Duterte vows teachers' wage hike will be more than P30k and will happen this year
Recto stressed that most of the teachers are in the three lowest ranks:
- 436,275 are Teacher I under Salary Grade (SG) 11 receiving P20,754 monthly
- 127,999 are Teacher II under SG 12 with monthly pay of P22,938
- 207,613 are Teacher III under SG 13 receiving P25,232 monthly
In the current system, the next to the ladder are Master Teacher I (SG 18, P40,637); Master Teacher II (SG 19, P 45,269), at Master Teacher III (SG 20, P51,155).
"Clearly, there is a P15,000-monthly pay and a four-salary grade gap between a Teacher III and a Master Teacher I.
"One official reason often given on why only a few Teacher III holders eventually make it to the Master Teacher items is the lack of budget," he said.
He noted the "dearth" in master teachers compared to the hundreds of thousands in lower ranks: there are 39,950 Master Teacher I, 15,828 Master Teacher II, and only 65 Master Teacher III.
"Kaya ilang dekada ang hihintayin bago makatawid sa Master Teacher. Ang biro nga ng mga guro: Dalaga ng pumasok saDepEd; ngayon lola na, pero Teacher III pa rin. Compared to their long wait, the ‘Ang Probinsyano’ series breezes by in a nanosecond," Recto said.
— The Summit Express
