Teachers also need rest after 10 months of work, group tells DepEd

Noting that public school teachers have been working for nearly 10 months now without proper breaks, a teachers’ group has called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to “justly compensate” their proportional vacation pay (PVP) in light of the adjusted school calendar.

In a letter to Education Secretary Leonor Briones dated March 30, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the extension of the school year was a matter of “serious concern” for educators, as their duties under distance learning “proved to be way heavier than their prepandemic duties.”

According to ACT secretary-general Raymond Basilio, the 10 months that public school teachers have worked are already equivalent to their regular service in a common school year, which is usually succeeded by the summer vacation when teachers enjoy their PVP.

“The current school calendar under distance learning, however, has set July 10, 2021, as the last day of classes, thereby requiring teachers to work for 14 straight months without any leave benefits,” he said.

Second extension

The PVP, the group explained, is a leave benefit specifically granted to public school teachers after rendering 10 months of continuous service during a single school year in place of the mandated yearly 15-day sick leaves and 15-day vacation leaves for workers in public and private sectors.

However, teachers may no longer be able to enjoy this benefit after the DepEd extended the school year 2020-2021 for the second time.

He added that many public school teachers were yet to receive the full payment promised by the DepEd for communication expense reimbursement and service recognition incentive for 2020.