Overworked yet underpaid: Not so happy teachers’ day

Jane Lyn Cartagina

October 05, 2023

Graphic by: Andrea Apit/Overturn

There’s no amount of flowers and cakes that will be able to compromise on the glaring gap in the government’s support for the country’s essential pillar of education—teachers.

Using the case of Teacher Moises Palomo of Tandag City, Surigao Del Sur, whose post went viral on Facebook, he described his experience as having to cross a river mainly to deliver the learning resources to his students during the pandemic, where online setup and modules are vital.

(Related Story: KMJS: Mga residente ng Davao City, buwis-buhay na tinatawid ang mabangis na tuganay river dahil sa kawalan ng madaraanang tulay)

In such cases, as learning resources and materials are not adequately maintained, direct negative impacts for students and teachers will be inevitable.

Basic learning materials and resource shortage

Learning resources and materials are crucial to enhancing student progress and the quality of their education.

On the submitted government inventory by the Office of the Vice President in 2023, it was revealed that only 104,536 of the 327,851 educational facilities are in good condition, despite the fact that such structures play a pivotal role in effective learning process.

Vice President Sara Duterte brought up the issue of inadequate school infrastructure and resources, but it has not yet been resolved as teachers were still forced to deal with the difficulties in public schools.

(Related Story: The Philippines’ Basic Education Crisis)

Teachers shortage

At the beginning of the academic year 2023–2024, approximately 30,000 new public school teachers will be hired, yet even with a hiring mechanism, it's still a temporary solution.

Representative France Castro of the Act Teachers partylist noticed an alarming Filipino educators shortage during her visit to three Metro Manila public schools at the beginning of the school year, mainly Melencio Castelo Elementary School, President Corazon Aquino Elementary School, and Batasan Hills National High School.

With the persistent issues on salary and work incentives for teachers, it is evident from the situation that educators were left with no choice but to drive away from their profession to pursue a more stable job that reciprocates the amount of effort they exert.

Low salary motivates teachers to fly abroad

“We are overworked yet underpaid”, significant sentiments of Louie Zabala, president of the Manila Public School Teachers Association (MPSTA), which clearly mirrors the unreciprocated hardships of Filipino teachers under the critical education system in the country.

In contrast to Thailand, where the newest wage grade for teachers spans from 50,000 to 70,000, in 2023 it presumably falls between 27,000 to 31,320 or even lower for private schools in the Philippine context amidst the foregoing inflation that hinders such workers from maximizing the amount of what they get to fulfill their necessities.

The situation implies that the government is giving less importance to the value of Filipino educators driving thousands of such professionals abroad each year to go after new employment opportunities, as proven by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).

Future of future formators

As Filipino educators were among the lowest-paid professionals in the country, it tells a lot about the rotting problem in the educational system that is long ago sought to be resolved.

Under the ruling of the new Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary and Philippine Vice President, Sara Duterte, who has a proposed budget of P758.6 billion allocated for education purposes, instead of planning to provide solutions on problems beyond the premise of DepEd, saving the withering motivation of teachers in the Philippines should be the priority.

Increasing the salary of educators and improving the educational environment are the most evident conditions that should be addressed firsthand by the DepEd secretary, as those factors decides on what will be the future of the future formators that is equally relevant to the nation’s overall welfare. —OVERTURN