ANGARA EYES HIGHER SALARY GRADE LEVEL FOR TEACHERS
Finance Committee to propose entry level salary of Php21,293 (SG-13)

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today said that the Senate Committee on Finance is proposing to raise the salary grade of teachers to SG13, which will increase the salary of teachers to Php21,293 - up by 77% from the current salary level, this is to foster competitiveness in the country's educational system.

"In failing to provide attractive compensation, government has been unable to recruit qualified, competent personnel or failed to keep those already in its roster. This has degraded the quality of public goods and services government delivers. And in agencies at the frontline in combating poverty and other millennium development goals, ineptitude has prevented the country from moving forward. We've got to pull the plug on mediocrity in our bureaucracy," said Angara who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance.

He added, "Its impact in education is even greater and far-reaching. We are only as good as our quality teachers. In public schools, we see unqualified teachers repeat formulas and equations from textbooks to perplexed, if not disinterested students. This lack of credentials in many public school teachers has led to a decreasing quality of education in our schools, and as a consequence, the waning competitiveness of our students."

A 2006 study conducted by the Civil Service Commission revealed a huge gap in the salaries of public sector employees and their counterparts in the private sector. Government professional and technical personnel earn 40% less than those employed in the private sector; this disparity is even greater at the senior manager level, where the difference is as high as 74%.

Angara also cited that at present, the salary grade (SG) of entry-level teachers equal those of the lowest ranking policemen, both pegged at SG 10 or Php12,026 a month. If we include the benefits they receive, however, entry level policemen end up getting higher pay - they receive around Php15,000 while teachers get around Php14,000.

The Finance Committee chair said that this is an example of inequitable distortion within the salary system, since in terms of qualifications, teachers are equivalent to a first lieutenant, who are under salary grade 17. He added that in contrast Filipino teachers who migrate abroad receive ten times the salary they get in the country.

This has led to the exodus of our best teachers to greener pastures abroad, and those left to teach our children are often inexperienced and unqualified, said Angara.

Angara shared that the Senate Committee on Finance is currently studying the salary adjustments that the administration has proposed. He lamented however that the new salary standardization law, in attempting to place the compensation of public employees at par with the private sector, seems to have shortchanged the largest sector of our bureaucracy, our teachers.

Under the proposed salary schedule of the administration, the position of entry level teachers will be upgraded from Salary Grade 10 to Salary Grade 11, and will receive Php18,088 a month, a 50.4% increase from their current salary rate.

Angara bewailed that while this may seem a substantial increase, it is still insufficient to prevent our teachers from leaving the country. He cited for instance, that the amount is insufficient to cover the expenses for a family living in the National Capital Region, which is at Php26,680 a month for a family of five.

He then suggested that in order to attract bright minds to teaching, the country has to provide our teachers with adequate compensation. The Senate Committee on Finance is proposing to raise the salary grade of teachers to SG13, which will increase the salary of teachers to Php21,293 - up by 77% from the current salary level.

The senator, who is also dubbed as Mr. Education, said that this is over and above the benefits that the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers guarantees and in no way should the rationalization of Magna Carta benefits in the proposed Salary Standardization Law result to its diminution.

"Teachers are at the heart of education, and in increasing the monetary incentives in teaching, we hope, will improve and strengthen our education system, and empower our students to stand tall in an increasingly competitive global economy," added Angara.