P977-M allowances for teachers in hardship posts

Education Secretary Leonor Briones on Wednesday approved the release of P977 million for the special allowance of teachers exposed to hardship in their area of assignment.

The fund will cover the deficiency in last year’s Special Hardship Allowance (SHA) given to teachers in 14,896 schools and 2,395 school districts and community learning centers in all the regions, the secretary said.

The Department of Education (DepEd) requested the additional amount of P977,405,080 based on the guidelines from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in November last year to add to the special compensation allotted for teachers exposed to hardship or difficulty in the place of work.

In late December, the DBM issued and released a special allotment release order for this amount, Briones said.

The SHA refers to compensation granted to teachers assigned to public schools or learning centers inaccessible by transportation and in dangerous areas; handling a class of two or more grades and carrying out mobile teaching functions; and performing alternative learning system (ALS) program coordinating functions.

For this year, Briones said the DepEd was already working with the DBM to review and update the SHA guidelines to make it more responsive to the current needs of teachers assigned in “hardship posts.”

For teachers in “hardship posts,” the allowance is 15 to 25 percent of their basic salary.