Not enough rest for teachers in DepEd’s 2023 school calendar — solon

(FILE) Jerlie Sinlao reports for work at Rafael Palma Elementary School in San Andres Bukid, Manila, on Tuesday to check her pupil’s learning modules. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party-list Rep. France Castro on Wednesday raised concern that the Department of Education (DepEd) calendar for school year 2022 to 2023 may leave teachers with not enough rest time with enrollment starting on July 25 and the academic year starting by August 25.

Castro explained that there are still many teachers who are still dealing with a high number of paperwork from the past school year.

However, Castro stressed that DepEd’s Department Order No. 34 does not explicitly mention compensation for teachers who would be asked to come to school to prepare for the next school year even if they are supposed to be on vacation.

“Wala sa nasabing Department Order ang pagbanggit sa sapat na kompensasyon para sa pagpapapasok sa mga guro sa kabila ng sa mga panahong iyan ay dapat nakabakasyon ang mga teachers natin,” she said.

(The said Department Order does not mention any sufficient compensation for teachers doing work even if they are allowed to go on vacation during those times.)

“Noong June 24 dapat ang pagtatapos ng School Year 2021-2022 pero ang teachers natin ay baon pa rin sa pagtatrabaho ng paperworks hanggang ngayon. Mahigit isang linggo na lang, kailangan na pumasok ng mga teachers para paghandaan ang parating na school year. Hindi na sila nakapagpahinga, wala pang kasiguruhan na sapat na mababayaran sila sa labis na serbisyong binibigay nila,” she added.

(The school year 2021- 2022 should have ended last June 24 but a lot of teachers are still doing paperworks up to now.  But in a few weeks time, teachers would go to school again to prepare for the next school year.  They can no longer rest, and they are not assured of any pay for the extension of their working hours.)

Castro said she is worried that the teachers who would be rendering overtime work due to the short span between the end of the school year and the start of the next one would not be compensated properly.

“Ayaw na nating maulit ang nangyari noong SY 2020-2021 kung saan nauwi sa ‘thank you’ na lamang ang labis na pagpapapasok sa mga guro sa panahon na dapat sila ay nagpapahinga at nagpapalakas para sa susunod na school year,” Castro noted.

(We don’t want to see a repeat of the past school year where working overtime was only rewarded by a ‘thank you’ when they used up time meant for them to rest and recover in time for the next school year.)

The same lawmaker in 2021, during the time of the 18th Congress, also sought clarification from the past DepEd administration about the proportional vacation pay (PVP) which teachers receive during the two-month vacation period, or after working for 10 months, in lieu of leave benefits.

However, if teachers continue to work during their vacation, Castro said back then that they should also receive compensation for the lost leave benefits, as they should not be working during the vacation period.

READ: Solon seeks teachers’ overtime pay for work rendered during extended school year

“Sa panahon ng June 25-August 22, 2022, tinatamasa dapat ng mga guro natin sa public school ang Proportional Vacation Pay (PVP). Wala na ngang sick leave ang teachers natin, hindi pa lubos na nakakapagpahinga ang mga teachers dahil sa dami ng paperworks at dagdag na trabaho na pinapataw sa kanila,” Castro added.

(From June 25 to August 22, 2022, public school teachers should be receiving the PVP.  They do not have sick leaves anymore, but worse, our teachers cannot fully rest due to the huge amount of work imposed upon them.)

DepEd on Tuesday said that the next school year will start on August 22 and will end on July 7, 2023.

READ: School year 2022-2023 to start August 22 — DepEd

However, even before classes open, several teachers’ groups have already stressed the need for instructors to take some time to rest, as the complicated setup brought by the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll.

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

READ: ‘Our only chance to rest’: Teachers groan under weight of extended work order

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced teachers to adapt to either distance learning methods with either a modular system or online classes.  However, ACT said before that some teachers do not really get breaks as their job goes past beyond the prescribed working hours.

/MUF