PIDS to DepEd: Review teachers' workload

to improve quality of education

A study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies warns actual teaching hours have
been 'increasingly sidelined' by the heavy workload teachers had to deal with

TEACHER QUALITY. A study from the Philippine Institute of Development studies urges
the education department to review workload of teachers in order or improve teaching in
public schools. File photo by Joel Liporada/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) should review the workload
of teachers as a move towards improving the quality of teaching in public schools, state think
tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said.

A recent PIDS study titled "Pressures on Public School Teachers and Implications on
Quality,” warned that actual teaching hours have been “increasingly sidelined” by the heavy
workload teachers had to deal with.

“The workload of public school teachers is not only limited to teaching but also to other
nonteaching tasks. Given this workload, actual teaching is increasingly being sidelined by the
multitude of other responsibilities and roles that teachers play,” the study’s authors Clarissa
David, Jose Ramon Albert, and Jana Flor Vizmanos said.

The Magna Carta for Public School Teachers requires teachers to devote 6 hours to actual
teaching per day. On top of this, though, teachers are often tasked with administrative work,
which include paperwork, training and seminars, and tasks related to budget, disaster
response, and health among others.

Aside from these, the study said teachers were likewise expected to participate in various
government programs, such as mass immunization activities, conditional cash transfers,
feeding programs, population census-taking, anti-illegal drug efforts, and elections, to name a
few.

The situation faced by public school teachers comes in stark contrast to that of teachers in
private schools, which often had administrative staff to carry out activities like enrollment,
registration, records, daily operations, and janitorial services. (READ: You want good quality
teachers? Pay them right – World Bank expert)

Public school teachers have repeatedly called out the “excessive” paperwork and systems
they needed to accomplish. Teachers themselves have said the amount of additional tasks
took time away from caring for their families, themselves, and from teaching itself.
(WATCH: Why do teachers teach?)

However, DepEd maintained all its requirements were legal and necessary for the
improvement of basic education.
What can be done? The study’s authors suggested DepEd look into its shortage of
employees and seek support from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to hire
additional administrative staff.

“The main and urgent recommendation to address OOSC [out-of-school children] and the
poor quality of education children receive in many public schools is to address the human
resources allocations of DepEd,” they said.

"These posts will fill in for administrative tasks, such as registration and records keeping,
secretarial work for the principal’s office, financial reporting, guidance counseling, and other
additional assignments normally distributed among regular teaching faculty," they added.

DepEd earlier said it was eyeing the creation of non-teaching posts to lessen the workload on
teachers. DepEd also announced it was set to hire some 80,000 teachers needed for the
coming school year.

While filling the vacant positions may take time, the study suggested public schools accept
undergraduate students pursing education and have them assist in administrative tasks. This,
they said, can be part of students' on-the-job training.
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But for this to happen, the authors said there must be "clear signaling” from the DepEd
Central Office that it would be accepted. It should also be coordinated with the Commission
on Higher Education.

Aside from this, DepEd can also hire more guidance counselors. (Student's wish: More
guidance counselors in schools)

DepEd earlier said it was looking to fill positions for 3,500 guidance counselors. Of this
target, 1,300 have been filled as of July 2018.

According to the DepEd, low salaries have discouraged applicants as the starting salary for
guidance counselors in public schools is about P12,000. – Rappler.com
Leyte teachers appeal for better internet
connectivity
Teachers in Abuyog, Leyte, climb mountains to get internet connection to submit their
teaching reports, showing gaps in service delivery despite the country's modernization efforts
in education.
Jessica Alvero

SEARCHING FOR INTERNET. Teachers from Libertad Elementary School climb

mountains to get internet connection. Photo by Joseph Sumayang

LEYTE, Philippines – Facebook user Joseph Sumayang posted on April 11 photos of

teachers climbing mountains to get the internet access they needed so they could submit their
teaching requirements. It was uploaded to show the challenges of teaching in the rural areas,
and with it an appeal for better wireless network connectivity in their area.

“Sa makataan-aw ani nga picture, tabangi intawon ninyo nga magka-signal ang Brgy.
Libertad, Abuyog, Leyte kay ang mga maestra sa atong eskuylahan kinahanglan pa muadto
sa pungkay aron makasagap og signal, maka-internet aron mkapasa sa reports nga
kinahanglan. Daghang Salamat," the post read.

(To those who will see these photos, please help us so that wireless network connection can
be accessible in Brgy. Libertad, Abuyog, Leyte because our teachers here would have to
climb up mountains just to connect to the internet so they can submit reports. Thank you!”)
Joseph has seen how his wife and her co-teachers have struggled to submit their year-end
reports and required forms over the years because of the town's poor network signal
connectivity.

DEDICATION: LES teachers try to finish their year-end reports before noon so they could
climb up the mountain again for internet connection. Photo by Alvin Advincula/Rappler

His wife, Melbie Joy, the Information and Communications Technology(ICT) coordinator in
Libertad Elementary School (LES) told Rappler of their difficult situation .

“Dili lalim. Inig start sa klase, magpasa ug forms. Naa pay mga urgent submissions. Inig
undang sa klase, magpasa na pud og forms. Way signal diri sa baryo. Mubaktas pa mi
mangitag signal. Pag-abot sa pungkay sa bukid, mukatkat pa og puno aron isang-it ang
pocket wi-fi. Kana, maka-send na mi,” Melbie narrated.

(It’s not easy. At the start of the school year, we need to send forms. Apart from urgent
submissions, we need to send reports again at the end of the school year. Network service is
unavailable in the community so we have to climb up the top of the mountain to search for
connection. At times, we need to climb up trees to hang our pocket wi-fi kits. That is how we
send reports.)

Admiration and Concern

Netizens commended the teachers for their dedication to do their jobs despite the extreme
challenges.
Some pointed out the high demands and workload of teachers in the Philippines.

Teachers from other parts of the country also shared their sentiments and brought up other
issues in the teaching profession.

Some comments on the post also highlighted the need for better working conditions and
increased compensation for teachers.

LES principal, Gregorio Betonio, also expressed his concern for the teachers.

“I am always worried. They would climb mountains to look for a stable connection and
would stay up until 8 pm without even minding the mosquitoes and the threats of wild
animals nearby,” Betonio said.

Betonio added how it would take 30 minutes for them to send accomplished reports—a
burden on their part. If errors are detected after a day or more, the teachers are informed of
these and they have to edit and resend the reports.

“One time, we encountered a snake in the mountains. Since then, I don’t go alone. We work
together. We look for a stable connection together. We are not hoping for a 4G or an LTE
network. We would be happy even with a 3G connection as long as we can easily send
reports without climbing up,” Melbie said. –Rappler.com

Jessica R. Alverois a Rappler Mover in Abuyog, Leyte. She is a third year Bachelor of
Elementary Education student of Abuyog Community College and is the Executive Editor of
Honeycomb.
No funds for newly hired teachers without
2019 budget – DepEd
The Department of Education needs to hire some 80,000 teachers for the coming school year

NEW TEACHERS. The Department of Education warns that if the 2019 budget is not
passed, there would be no funds for teachers who will be newly hired. File photo by Lito
Borras/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – With the 2019 national budget still stalled in Congress, the
Department of Education (DepEd) warned it will have difficulty sourcing funds to pay
around 80,000 teachers needed to be hired for the coming school year.

Education Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla raised the concern on Monday, March 18,
pointing out that the 2018 budget does not include funds for personnel newly hired in 2019.

"There’s no funding allocation for these newly hired teachers because we are only given a
funding allocation for the 2018 level, so you can imagine...our budget does not include our
newcomers," Sevilla said in a press conference.

The government is on its third month operating on a reenacted budget after Congress failed to
pass the 2019 spending bill by December 31, 2018. No less than President Rodrigo Duterte
met with lawmakers in a bid to end the budget impasse, but the talks led nowhere.
For agencies like the DepEd, temporary solutions had to be created.

Sevilla said this means prioritizing funds for urgent needs like paying teachers. She added
that they have utilized savings from teachers who resigned or did not attend work to instead
pay for salaries of current teachers.

"This is just temporary. If this will happen for the entire year, then there is really a big
problem for DepEd because we are also hiring new ones (teachers).... That is why it is very
important for us to have the 2019 General Appropriations Act because...[it] is higher in
funding allocation and we will not need to make internal arrangements anymore," she said.

Sevilla said that if the 2018 budget will be reenacted for the whole year, funds for new
teachers can still be allocated, though the budget department will need to say where it would
be sourced from.

Stretching resources: If the 2019 budget is not passed soon, the DepEd will also face the
problem of sourcing funds not just for newly hired teachers, but for programs and other
payments.

"The problem is by April. If this will continue, many of the payments we set aside will be due
and we cannot anymore adjust," Sevilla said in a mix of English and Filipino.

She added that the productivity enhancement benefits and midyear bonuses of some 300,000
employees will also need to be released by April.

Aside from these, teachers will also need to get their P3,500 cash allowance to purchase
supplies needed for the coming school year.

Under the reenacted budget, agencies are allowed to spend only 25% of their 2018 budget
from January to March 2019. If the 2019 budget remains in limbo or new guidelines for
operating under the reenacted budget are not issued on time, Sevilla said the DepEd will not
have enough funds for all these expenses come April.

Meanwhile, government employees, including the DepEd's 800,000 employees, are also
scheduled to receive the 4th and final tranche of their salary hike under the Salary
Standardization Law (SSL). The SSL has been held hostage because of the budget impasse.

The Department of Budget and Management recommended the amendment of the executive
order on the salary increase to the Office of the President so that the hike can be
implemented. – Rappler.com