Baldoz: Teachers displaced by K-12 to be helped

LABOR Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said college teachers facing displacement with the implementation of the K-12 basic education program may avail themselves of government financial and livelihood assistance for which P500 million had been set aside this year.

Baldoz said teachers who would lose their jobs due to K-12 may receive from P7,000 to 25,000 for three to six months.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Adjustment Measures Program has P500 million for displaced permanent and part-time college teachers, she said.

Teachers availing themselves of the fund however would “have to show proof they are actively seeking jobs,” she added.

Over 4,000 scholarships

In a press briefing Saturday in Tagaytay City, Baldoz said the DOLE would coordinate with the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) on the assistance to the teachers.

Meanwhile, over 4,000 college teachers were recently awarded graduate scholarships by CHEd to help them improve their skill sets during the transition years of the K-12 program.

Karol Mark Yee, CHEd K-12 transition program project director, said the commission last week gave grants to 4,073 teachers nationwide as part of their development program for faculty and higher education staff in the years the number of college students would drop with the introduction of senior high school.

Of the number, 1,850 teachers will go for their master’s degrees, while 1,379 will pursue doctorates and the rest received dissertation grants, Yee said.