DepEd makes amends with overload pay

The Department of Education recently issued DepEd Order No. 005, series of 2024, which entitles teachers to “overload pay” equivalent to 25 percent of their salary for teaching assignments beyond their regular six-hour daily workload, something that teachers have long been fighting for. This granting of extra compensation is enshrined in Republic Act No. 4670, or the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, enacted in 1966. This meant that it took the government 58 years before implementing this aspect of the law. Better late than never?

Friends and colleagues have teased me for my “love-hate” relationship with DepEd as I have written numerous spirited pieces related to their policies. It seems I must stay on in this roller coaster ride with the agency. This time, I appreciate their efforts to rectify the labor situation with teachers, one step at a time. Earlier on, they have begun de-loading teachers from administrative tasks (though a sustainable solution for this is still elusive) and now they have set the stage for teachers to get compensated for extra work. I am glad to give credit (without taking away the efforts of teachers and allies who have championed this cause) because we must reinforce agencies when they are doing something right. We must show them that course correction is welcome. It is not a blow to their reputation to admit that their previous policies are wanting. In fact, it is in listening to their constituents and being willing to make changes that benefit the people that secures government its integrity.

There is widespread misconception that teachers work relatively short hours. A lot seems to think that a teacher’s work starts and ends alongside class times. Furthermore, they seem to think that teachers get an inordinate amount of vacation time when classes are on break. This cannot be further from the truth. While the DepEd order confirms that teachers still have to render eight hours a day (six hours of teaching, two hours of ancillary tasks), they do not clock out simply because it is 5 p.m. There are many tasks that must be completed before the next class day, such as preparing the lesson plan and grading exams and papers, which usually lead most teachers to bringing their work home and working through the night. My teaching colleagues fondly call this as going to “Check Republic,” where they have to hunker down and grade all the submissions just so grades can be submitted to administration on time. This does not include the long-term preparation and planning required for each quarter which they have to do during school breaks.

The DepEd memo recognizes the many tasks that teachers do beyond direct classroom instruction. The order lists the following teacher ancillary tasks: curriculum planning, curriculum delivery and pedagogy, assessment of learner’s progress, and homeroom guidance and management (which includes conference with parents and home visits). Tell me, can all this be accomplished in two hours per day? Moreover, if a teacher aims to do right by each of their students, could any of these tasks be done within two hours? Acknowledging these two hours as part of essential—and credited—work is only the beginning. In the long run, I hope to see them aim to provide teachers a whole workday a week to address these tasks, similar to setups in universities.

Of course, the current order only accounts for teaching assignments when calculating overload pay. (Again, it’s a start.) They also require that there must be a shortage of teachers before people are given extra assignments (Probably not that hard to prove.) Master teachers have a whole other set of conditions, though their plight—and scarcity—is an entirely different concern altogether. A battle up ahead is the question of wages as House Bill No. 9920 is filed, seeking to raise the minimum monthly salary for teachers to P50,000 (current minimum wage for teachers is P27,000). There is also the push to transition the school calendar much faster, given the unprecedented heat wave that fell upon us. A faster transition requires the cooperation of teachers who have to make significant modifications in their lessons (especially if the current school year will end much earlier, as DepEd had requested) and who might have to put in even more time and effort in preparing for the next term. The very least we can do for teachers is to compensate them properly and allow them the time necessary to do quality work.

Just as much as DepEd has begun acknowledging the struggles of teachers and has made steps toward improving their welfare, we acknowledge their efforts in return and urge them to continue to do better. More work needs to be done and I hope the agency persists on this redemptive path.

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aatuazon@up.edu.ph