This refers to the news story titled “Wanted: Younger public school teachers” (News, 6/22/14), which reported that a partylist member of the House of Representatives was batting for a lower compulsory retirement age for public school teachers.
Representative Silvestre Bello III (1-BAP), who served justice secretary during President Fidel V. Ramos’ administration, may be unwittingly doing an injustice to teachers in their 60s who are still in active service.
The key word there is compulsory. Why compel elderly teachers to leave teaching upon reaching 60 when at that age or beyond, they may still be able, ready and willing to continue serving the Philippine educational system? A big number of them prefer to be with their students in the classroom, teaching them the needed knowledge and skills, and developing in them the proper values and attitudes. They say they feel young, active, agile, alert, energetic and enthusiastic doing this, milling around, literally and figuratively, with their young charges as they play, exercise, sing and dance with them in various school activities. Despite the age, they still find inspiration in their vocation, and are full of passion for teaching, and of compassion for the nation’s youth.
Bello was reported as saying that early retirement for senior teachers would do good for the school system as old teachers may find it difficult to meet the taxing demands of their job, especially with the problems besetting public education at present. Has his staff made a research or study along this line?
If he and his colleagues in Congress really want to alleviate, if not totally solve, the present school problems, the first thing they should do is to allocate bigger and adequate funds for education and teachers. Anyway, the Constitution mandates the highest budgetary priority to education. Besides, bills requiring financial allocations always emanate from the House where Bello belongs.
If he really wants to help retiring or retired public school teachers, why not author a legislative measure that would give them more humane, decent and just pensions?
—EUSEBIO S. SAN DIEGO,
founder, Kaguro
and former president,
Quezon City PSTA, essandiego@ymail.com