President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday vowed to fulfill his campaign promise of a salary increase for teachers as he ordered the Department of Education (DepEd) to look for ways to do it.
During a “Brigada Eskwela” activity in San Miguel, Manila City, President Marcos accompanied by Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio told reporters the government’s plan to provide higher pay for teachers.
“We have an increase under the Salary Standardization Law, which is in tranches every year,” Duterte said when asked about teachers’ pay.
Under the Salary Standardization Law, government employees receive pay increases as part of the mandated salary increase by the Department of Budget and Management.
The fourth tranche or the last phase of the Salary Standardization Law took effect Jan. 1, 2023, while the first tranche was back on Jan. 1, 2020.
Duterte added that the President has tasked her and the Department of Education to conduct research to provide a long-term approach to increasing the salaries of teaching and non-teaching DepEd personnel.
“When we came in last year, when I took the post, President Marcos ordered us to procure a study to look for a long-term way how to increase the salaries of our teaching and non-teaching DepEd personnel,” she said in Filipino.
On July 16, the approved P40 minimum wage hike in Metro Manila took effect to aid workers against rising prices of commodities.
At the same event, Mr. Marcos expressed his support for the DepEd’s “Matatag Curriculum.”
President Marcos and Duterte joined Victorino Mapa High School teachers in San Miguel, Manila in preparation for the upcoming school year.
Asked about his thoughts on the Matatag Curriculum, Mr. Marcos said that the curriculum would be a significant addition to improving the country’s education system.
“This is very significant because.. we are trying to fix the curriculum to match the needs of Filipino students,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
The DepEd recently launched its Matatag Curriculum to “decongest” the current K-12 syllabus.
Under the Matatag Curriculum, there will be a reduction in the number of competencies and focus on the development of foundation skills such as literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills for kindergarten to Grade 3 students.
In addition to this, the new curriculum will also intensify the formation of students’ values and character development through Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) and the Values Education Act and the articulation of 21st Century Skills.
Duterte said that the Matatag Curriculum would be the administration’s legacy in the country’s basic education, which would address problems cited by international and local education experts.
“First on the list is that there are many learning competencies. So from approximately 11,000, we are able to lower it down to 3,000,” she said.
Mr. Marcos also said there is much to consider when considering a change in the school schedule.
“That’s a big question. It’s not that simple to change the schedule. We changed the class schedule before due to the pandemic, and now there is climate change. Due to the current class schedule, children are fainting due to the heat. That’s why we need to conduct a study on what we should do,” the President said.
“So, we don’t have a preference, We are looking for what’s best for both the kids, especially for the children, teachers, and the administrative non-teaching staff,” he added.
Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian urged the Teacher Education Council (TEC) to ensure the alignment of teacher education and training programs to the ‘Matatag’ K to 10 curriculum.
K to 10 will focus on foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy, as well as values education and peace competencies.
From 11,700 learning competencies, the new curriculum reduces the total number of learning competencies to 3,644. Learning competencies are the knowledge, understanding, skills, and attitudes that students need to demonstrate in every lesson or learning activity.
Since teachers have the most important role in educating the youth, Gatchalian said it was important to ensure their educational training is appropriate to what they will teach under the new K to 10 curriculum.
The new curriculum, which will start rolling out by School Year (SY) 2024-2025, will have a phased implementation starting with Kindergarten, Grades 1, 4, and 7.
For SY 2025-2026, the curriculum will roll out in Grades 2, 5, and 8; followed by Grades 3, 6, and 9 for (SY) 2026-2029.
The revised curriculum will roll out in Grade 10 by SY 2027-2028, followed by the full implementation of the curriculum by 2028.
In preparing teachers for the rollout of the curriculum, Gatchalian cited the role of the National Educators’ Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), the DepEd’s professional development arm.
Also on Monday, Metro Manila police director Brig. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez ordered all five district commands in the National Capital Region to intensify patrol operations in connection with the opening of classes.
This comes after the Department of Education released the school calendar with the first day of classes scheduled for Aug. 29.
Nartatez said his men are fully prepared to ensure the safety and security of students, parents, and teachers in time for the school opening.
The police directors of Manila, Quezon City, Northern, Southern, and Eastern Police districts and all station commanders were tapped to increase police presence to deter and capture criminal elements and to rapidly respond to the public’s need for police assistance.
With a total of 5,085 police officers deployed, law enforcement activities will also be intensified at schools, transportation hubs, and places of convergence to prevent crime incidents.
Additionally, 668 Police Assistance Desks (PADs) will be established near school campuses, manned by 1,572 police officers, to cater to any concerns or queries from the public.