Most private school teachers paid less than entry-level salary in public schools — survey

MANILA, Philippines —  Most private school teachers earn less than their public school counterparts and do not have a collective bargaining agreement with their employers, a recent survey by a teachers' organization has found.

Conducted in June and publicized Monday, a survey by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers Private Schools has found that more than three in five private school teachers earn less than the entry-level salary for public school teachers, which stands at P27,000.

While half of the teachers surveyed said there was a faculty union in their school, at least seven in ten teachers said they were not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the survey also found.

The poll included responses from 103 teachers from 74 private schools and universities across the country, nearly half of which come from NCR. This represents a small fraction — less than 1% — of the more than 12,000 private schools in the country, based on 2021 data from the Department of Education.

A quarter earning less than NCR minimum wage 

Around one in four private school teachers surveyed earn less than the National Capital Region minimum wage of P620 per day, the survey also found.

Only out of five earned wages equal to the estimated family living wage — or wage ensuring decent living conditions — by the economic think tank Ibon Foundation, which is at P35,000.

“It is important to note that many of the respondents are not beginning teachers as about 37% of them have been teaching for 10 years or longer,” ACT-Private Schools said in a statement. 

“This only goes to show that entry-level salaries in these private schools are even more pitiful,” the group added.

The survey also found that a law mandating salary increases for teachers in line with tuition fee increases is “not religiously implemented.” 

At least 17% of the survey respondents said they have yet to experience any salary increase since they began their employment.

Right to organize 

At least 50% of the private school teachers surveyed said that a faculty union exists in their schools. But only 35% said they were covered by a collective bargaining agreement, with 14% saying they “do not know” about it.

More than 50% of teachers surveyed said the “absence of a union” was a moderate to major problem. 

Meanwhile, ranking highest among private school teachers’ problems are low salaries (88%), excessive workload (77%) and difficulty in promotion (75%). 

Even ‘mega’ schools offer low pay

While the government has acknowledged that salaries in private schools tend to be low as “small schools cannot afford to pay their teachers with decent salaries,” ACT Private Schools Secretary-General Jerome Geronimo said that the survey shows even “large” and “mega” schools pay teachers rates lower than public schools.

Most or nine out of ten private schools included in the survey paid their teachers less than the starting pay for public school teachers. 

“School size does not matter much in the setting of the school’s starting salary for teachers, as P10,000 to P12,500 and P12,500 to P15,000 monthly salaries are the most common starting salary rates for private school teachers,” the group said in their analysis of the survey.

Of the teachers who answered the ACT survey, at least 32% worked at a "large" school or schools with 1,0001 to 5,000 students, while 23% came from schools with a "medium" size population (501 to 1,000 students). 

Those who worked at a school with 500 students and below represented 22% of all respondents. Meanwhile, there were also 22% teachers who worked at "very large" schools (5001 to 10,000 students) and "mega" schools (more than 10,000 students).

Of the 21 teachers surveyed who worked at “very large” or "mega" schools, 15 were paid below P27,000.  

Minimum wage for private school teachers 

Citing the findings of their survey, Geronimo said that the disparity between teachers’ wages should push the government to set a minimum wage for private school teachers and identify schools capable of providing appropriate pay to educators.

Geronimo said that private school teachers continue to get paltry salaries due to the "excessive deregulation of the private school system" and lack of support from the government. 

"We have always been used by the government as an excuse to counter the calls of public school teachers for salary increase as such may purportedly cause the shutting down of many private schools," Geronimo said.

"The solution is not to deprive public school teachers of decent salaries but to raise the salaries of private school teachers to be at par with our colleagues in the public sector,” he added.