MANILA, Philippines — More than 50,000 part-time faculty members from different higher education institutions (HEIs) are in need of financial assistance while reeling from the the “no teach, no pay” setup due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) chairman Prospero de Vera III said Friday.
During the joint virtual hearing of the Senate committees on finance and public affairs, De Vera appealed to the Senate to “seriously consider” the effects of the pandemic on the operations and personnel of colleges and universities or HEIs, and that teaching personnel be granted wage subsidies.
De Vera also bared that the faculty members concerned were not included by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Finance (DOF) in any of the government’s financial assistance programs, including the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).
“They are not included in any amelioration program of government,” de Vera said.
“And we have to help them, especially because the opening of classes for private universities is moving to August. So many of them have not had any pay since the end of the semester all the way to August,” added De Vera.
Previously, the CHEd chairman said that HEIs that can implement a flexible learning scheme— meaning those who use digital and non-digital technology— can start classes in August.
Meanwhile, universities and colleges that will conduct face to face or the regular classroom setup can start classes by September.
CHEd: HEIs implementing ‘flexible learning’ can start classes in August
Asked why the part-time faculty members were not included in the SAP, de Vera replied: Hindi sila kasama doon kasi ang database ng SAP, iba eh. Hindi malinaw kung sino sa mga part-timers ang pinasweldo, [at] sino yung walang sweldo at all.”
(They were not included in the SAP because it’s database is different. It wasn’t made clear who were the part-timers who still received their salaries, and who did not receive any at all.)
De Vera added that the CHEd will ask the private universities and colleges to provide a list of names of part-time faculty members who did not receive remuneration during the lockdown period.