The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition requested that the Department of Education establish a standard working hour for teachers after learning that some of them are expected to put in more than six hours or remain at the school for longer than eight hours.
According to the group, these schools disobey DepEd regulations. It mandated that the DepEd issuers, the Civil Service Commission Resolutions, and the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers be followed by the education department’s field employees.
The group’s national chairperson, Benjo Basas said, “Nasa fourth week pa lang tayo mula nung nagbukas ang klase pero sobrang pagod na ang nararamdaman ng mga guro. Hindi na magkandaugaga sa napakamaring paperwork, reports at online tasks maliban pa sa face-to-face classes.”
According to Basas, a lot of teachers complained about having an overwhelming task and working longer hours.
Furthermore, Basas said, “Malinaw naman ang polisiya ng DepEd alinsunod sa resolusyon ng CSC sa pagpapatupad ng Magna Carta, hindi dapat lalampas ng anim na oras ang turo ng bawat guro at ang dalawang oras na laan sa paghahanda sa klase at iba pang gawain ay maaaring iuwi o dalhin kahit saan. Pero bakit inaabot ng siyam na oras ang mga guro sa paaralan, gayong dapat ay makauwi na sila matapos ang anim na oras lamang?”
The CSC issued Resolution 080096 in 2008 directing the DepEd to publish recommendations on the “Six-Hour Workday,” but the DepEd disregarded the directive.
