Four new teacher positions proposed

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto proposed on Saturday to create four new salary grades for public school teachers to fill a wide gap in the Department of Education’s (DepEd) ranking of permanent positions.

Recto explained that most public school teachers, or close to 772,000, have the positions of Teacher I to III with Salary Grades of 11 to 13.

Their monthly salaries range from P20,754 to P25,232.

The next higher ranks are Master Teacher I to III with Salary Grades 18 to 20, which range from P40,637 to P51,155.

There is a four-salary grade gap between Teacher III to Master Teacher I, but the DepEd can only fund so many master teacher positions, so many are stuck at Teacher III, he said.

56,000 master teachers

There are only 39,950 teachers with rank of Master Teacher I and 15,828 under Master Teacher II. For Master Teacher III, there are only 65 in the country, he pointed out.

“Many are stranded for years, or even forever, in deadend positions where promotion is delayed or impossible because of missing rungs in the DepEd career ladder,” he said.

“Teachers joke that they entered the DepEd as bachelorettes, and now that they are grandmothers, they are still at Teacher III,” he added.

To close the gap, Recto proposed the creation of four new ranks of Teacher IV, V, VI and VII with Salary Grades 14 to 17.

The basic starting monthly pays for these positions are: Teacher IV, P27,755; Teacher V, P30,531; Teacher VI, 33,584; and Teacher VII, P36,942, he said.

“These are the bridge items to Master Teacher I. Creating them is only just and fair.”

“One of the pillars of civil service is the predictability of meritorious promotion. In the case of the DepEd, there seems to be a glass ceiling which prevents the career progression of the truly deserving,” he said.

Recto said he was informed that Education Secretary Leonor Briones had asked the Department of Budget and Management to create these positions.