Teachers and other regular workers of the Department of Education (DepEd) currently have to retire at 65, a bill was filed before to lower the retirement age and now a SENATOR has introduced a new measure for that.
Senator Francis Escudero has refiled legislation to lower the mandatory retirement age for employees of the U.S. Education Department.
Escudero said in a statement that Senate Bill No. 58 aims to lower the retirement age for regular DepEd employees, such as public school teachers, from 65 to 60 years old.
This came about as a result of Senator Win Gatchalian introducing various bills in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s aspirations for education.
Gatchalian promised the Marcos administration that, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts, and Culture, he would assist in providing the Filipino young with high-quality education.
“If enacted into law, this proposed legislation will benefit hundreds and thousands of retirable DepEd personnel, both teaching and non-teaching, who would want to spend the prime of their lives doing other occupations other than their usual functions in the government,” said Escudero, the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education.
As long as they have served less than 15 years of service, DepEd employees can serve till the age of 65 if they meet existing civil service standards and Government Service Insurance System rules, Escudero said.
Nearly a million people work for the DepEd, and Escudero claimed that the action would aid in the department’s “revitalization.”
Additionally, he stated, the agency “needs skills updating and professional advancement of their personnel in order that services rendered at the department will be restructured and modernized”.
“This measure shall also open the doors of opportunities to young teachers and non-teaching aspirants for the jobs at the education department,” Escudero said.
A Senate investigation into the status of the implementation of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 or the K to 12 Law has been proposed by Gatchalian, who for his part has filed Proposed Senate Resolution No. 5. (Republic Act No. 10533).
As public dissatisfaction with the K–12 education system grows, the proposed assessment aims to offer strategic options for improving its implementation.
His remarks reflect those of President Rodrigo Duterte, who urged Filipinos to improve their international ranks on STEM topics in his State of the Nation Address.
Only 13% and 19% of Grade 4 children in the Philippines exceed the minimum criterion in Science and Math, respectively, according to the results of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS).
Senate Bill No. 476, or the Equitable Access to Math and Science Education Act, aims to construct accessible math and science high schools in the Philippines, particularly in areas where there is no public high school in the subject area.
The senator also wants to see the full and proper execution of the Excellence in Teacher Education Act or Republic Act No. 11713, because teachers are one of the most significant components in education.
Gatchalian, who also introduced Senate Bill No. 383 or the Digital Transformation in Basic Education Act, said this will increase the quality of teacher training and education in the country.
As part of Senate Bill No. 474, which he introduced, the Department of Education (DepEd) is required to supply laptop computers to every student enrolled in public schools from kindergarten through high school.
