Catholic schools seek legislated pay hike, too
BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — The largest group of Catholic schools is now turning to Congress to make the pay of elementary and high school teachers at par with that of their counterparts in public schools.
The goal is to stop the migration of private school teachers to public schools that pay higher wages, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (Ceap) said.
A Ceap draft measure seeks to make the salaries of basic education teachers uniform and the pay scale in private schools match that of their government counterparts, Ceap president Elmer Dizon said.
Public school teachers earn an average P19,600 a month, far higher than their private counterparts’ P11,400.
“If we give P15,000 [monthly salaries] to our teachers, and public schools pay out P20,000 to P22,000, we are asking the government and the Department of Education to give us the P7,000 [difference],” Dizon said during Ceap’s annual meeting at Saint Louis University on Nov. 14.
Ceap, formed in 1941, represents 1,484 Catholic schools throughout the country.
Practice area
Ceap officials said the salary difference made the private sector a practice area for teachers who were inevitably recruited by public schools. It may also be the reason for the slump in private school enrollment for the past three years, Dizon said.
“We are glad that we are a training ground to develop our teachers but we would also like them to stay with us. That’s why we need to uplift their quality of life so we can also continue to provide quality education for our students,” he said.
The Ceap version of the salary bill, titled “An Act Enhancing the Salary Structure for All Teachers in Basic Education,” seeks to stem the migration of competent private school teachers to public schools and prevent a paralysis, according to Dizon.—VALERIE DAMIAN
