Suspend 6-hour work, teachers ask Angara

MANILA, Philippines — The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) is calling on Education Secretary Sonny Angara to suspend the implementation of the guidelines for teachers’ workload and overload pay, saying these have caused more burdens instead of easing them for public school teachers.

In a statement, the TDC said Department Orders 5 and 10,
 series of 2024, should be suspended as they have become a “legal basis to scourge” teachers under the MATATAG curriculum.

DO 5 contains guidelines for the teaching overload pay and six-hour teaching policy, which the TDC earlier said needs to be shortened as it overworks teachers.

DO 5 also serves as the working hour policy under the MATATAG curriculum.

“These two policies must be stopped immediately, especially DepEd Order No. 5,” TDC chairman Benjo Basas said.

While the TDC noted that DO 5 promised teaching overload pay for teachers who exceed six hours of classroom instruction, it also requires teachers to teach six hours daily, a violation of “the spirit and letter of Republic Act 4670, or the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.”

“The law says that the teacher can teach for no more than six hours, but it doesn’t say that the six hours should be missed; that’s different. Even in the previous DepEd policies, there was no such requirement, that’s why we only teach for four to five hours and get home after six hours at school,” Basas said.

“We are concerned that since the six hours of teaching are required every day, our teachers can be forced to teach seven to eight classes with almost no breaks. It’s hard for our teachers, especially when there are so many children in one class,” he added.

For the TDC, the policy could lead to multiple lesson preparations or the assignment of subjects and grade levels that do not align with teachers’ training just to comply with the six-hour policy.

The group argued that the integration has led to a more congested curriculum and has forced some teachers to teach subjects like mathematics and reading, even if they are not familiar with them – a situation that further burdens both teachers and students.

The TDC also raised the possibility of schools declaring an excessive number of teachers and transferring them to other stations.

Additionally, DO 10 mandates shortened class hours of 40 to 45 minutes per subject across all grade levels, even those not included in the first phase of the MATATAG curriculum implementation.

“Because of that, teachers are now required to teach up to eight classes, and if the teaching does not reach six hours, other teaching loads in other subjects or year levels will be sought. It wasn’t like this before because we only had four to five sections,” Basas said.

The TDC also lamented how the new curriculum does not provide learning materials.

The group has raised these concerns in several congressional hearings before the House of Representatives and Senate education committees, discussing them with their respective chairpersons.

The TDC said it has submitted a position paper to Angara’s office and held initial meetings with concerned undersecretaries, who have committed to addressing the issue.

“Secretary Angara is new to the DepEd, that’s why we want to explain these complications to him in a dialogue,” Basas said.

The TDC said it anticipates that a meeting with DepEd officials will follow soon.

No finger-pointing

Meanwhile, perennial and lingering issues surrounding the DepEd should not be the subject of finger-pointing, especially the frustratingly low performance of the Philippines when it comes to students’ aptitude test in the global community.

“Finger-pointing and blaming others will bring us nowhere. Leadership is all about being captain of the ship. It’s very clear that the DepEd has always received the largest budget every fiscal year,” House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin pointed out.

If there were problems, they likely came from a lack of direction and a poor system of implementation, according to Garin, refuting Vice President Sara Duterte’s claims that the government’s budget, particularly during her time as education secretary, was mishandled.

“If there were issues during her tenure in the DepEd, why didn’t she raise them when she had the power to make changes?” Garin asked.

“It’s easy to claim a lack of support after the fact, but real leadership is about taking action and making a difference when it matters, not after you resigned,” she added.

The most notable problem that the agency had during Duterte’s reign was Manila’s low standing in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assesses the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students in mathematics, reading and science.

Others include perennial teacher welfare problems, which should have been also addressed during Duterte’s time, including long working hours for educators, high teacher-student ratio, the burden of administrative tasks, promotion opportunities and commensurate compensation.

“The DepEd had the resources, yet we saw little improvement in key areas like education quality and infrastructure. If there was mismanagement, it’s time to own up to it and work on real solutions, not just criticize from the sidelines,” Garin stressed. 

Oversight meetings on the DepEd budget revealed that textbooks, school furniture, learning materials and information technology hardware amounting to billions had languished for two to three years in various warehouses, according to Garin.

Another administration lawmaker, Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Jil Bongalon made similar comments.

“If there were indeed budget issues, why raise them only now? It’s easy to blame others, but real leadership is about finding solutions and taking responsibility,” Bongalon said. — Delon Percale