On Tuesday, Sara Duterte, the vice president and secretary of education, pledged to public school teachers that they will receive thirty days of uninterrupted vacation during the academic year 2023–2024.
Duterte announced at the National Teachers’ Month kickoff ceremony in Tagbilaran, Bohol, that a memorandum would be released on the subject.
As what Duterte said in her speech, “We made sure that in this year’s school calendar, teachers will have 30 straight days of rest during the break without any DepEd activity that requires volunteer works. All activities with voluntary participation is scheduled after the said 30-day break.”
“End of School Year Rites was already included into the official school days of the current school calendar,” she added.
In addition to highlighting the critical role that educators play, Duterte declared that more advantages would be extended to them.
“With the vetted guidelines by both DBM [Department of Budget and Management] and the Civil Service Commission, we are requesting a higher allocation for teaching overload pay. We can never put a monetary value on your contributions to the country. Rest assured that we are committed to recognizing and compensating our teachers for their invaluable contributions. We will always advocate for teacher benefits as your champions,” she stressed.
Additionally, DepEd and DBM are collaborating closely to authorize the appointment of 1,500 project development officers and 3,500 administrative officers to support the schools.
As a result, teachers will soon be freed from administrative duties to concentrate on improving students’ learning, according to Duterte.
Furthermore, the DepEd secretary promised to help teachers with their loans.
A memorandum of understanding between DepEd and the GSIS about an exclusive lane for teachers in all branches and a dedicated team to handle solely teacher complaints is going to be signed.
“Many of our school teachers are overly stressed about their financial insecurities. That is why we are regularly engaging with GSIS. We are looking to address your concerns over accrued interests or arrears of your loans,” she said.
Additionally, DepEd plans to introduce a website soon that would offer instructors free legal assistance with regard to their loan arrangements.
Duterte also promised an impartial method for teacher advancement.
“Wala nang palakasan. We are now developing an automated system for an objective selection in the hiring and promotion of teachers,” she said.
