20,000 contracted at P3,000 a month, lower than janitor’s pay
SOME 20,000 kindergarten teachers who will teach some 1.6 million pupils trooping to public schools today are the lowest-paid government employees, earning only P3,000 a month, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio and Agham Rep. Angelo Palmones said Sunday.
Tinio and Palmones also warned that the government’s push for its K12 program—which adds two years to the standard basic education—minus the required funding would see some of the 21.5 million schoolchildren going to classes under mango trees.
Kidapawan City District Supervisor Levi Justo Palmones confirmed that 70 of his kindergarten teachers were getting only P3,000 a month—and being paid only once every six months and sometimes only once a year.
“These kindergarten teachers have obtained a four-year degree and passed the teachers’ board examinations, yet they cannot be absorbed and given permanent positions because of a lack of funding,” Palmones, the brother of the congressman, said.
The P3,000 does not cover the P1,000 annual chalk and uniform allowance and other benefits, prompting the congressman to donate P1,000 to each of the district’s 70 kindergarten teachers.
Tinio described the government’s treatment as “oppressive, exploitative, anti-poor and anti-teacher.”
Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the House committee on education and principal author of the kindergarten bill, said his measure originally allocated P6,000 for kindergarten teachers.
He said the bicameral conference committee, which he co-chairs with his father, Senator Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on education, dropped the specific allocation to give the Education Department a free hand in deciding how much the teachers should get.
The Education and Budget Departments slashed the monthly pay to P3,000 without benefits because of a lack of funds, Angara said.
District supervisor Palmones says the kindergarten teachers choose to work overtime, taking an extra three-hour session in the morning and another three-hour stint in the afternoon to raise their monthly income to P6,000.
“These teachers take their job so seriously that they do not find other well-paying jobs because they are hoping that the government will absorb them and give them permanent status,” the school superintendent said.
Tinio denounced the approach used by the Education Department of hiring contractual kindergarten teachers.
“The [department] has turned to massive contractualization, hiring more than 20,000 kindergarten teachers on one-year contracts of service. This is unprecedented. Never before has the [department] hired contractual teachers in such numbers,” Tinio said.
He said the contractual workers were “grossly exploited” since their compensation falls far below minimum wage.
“They are paid a mere P3,000 to P6,000 per month compared to the P18,549 per month salary of regular teachers, Tinio said.
“Even the lowest paid government employee is entitled to P9,000 per month. In short, the [department’s] kindergarten teachers are the lowest paid government employees in service.”
Rep. Palmones added: “Even janitors who work as regulars in the government get bigger pay than the kindergarten teachers. At the very least, the janitors get the mandatory minimum wage.”
Tinio also said the implementation of the K12 program would worsen the problems that had long been plaguing the public school system.
“Due to the failure of the Aquino administration to provide adequate funding in the 2012 national budget, the existing shortages in the basic education system will be aggravated by the unmet requirements of K12, particularly its kindergarten component,” Tinio said.
He said the influx of around 1.6 million 5-year-old enrollees to kindergarten this school year would result in a shortage of around 20,000 teachers and 25,000 classrooms solely for the kindergarten component of K12.
“After two years, the Aquino administration has been unable to close the gaps in basic education resources,” Tinio said.
“For school year 2012, the total shortages for the whole public school system stands at 132,483 teachers, 97,685 classrooms, and 153,709 water and sanitation facilities.”
Tinio criticized the Education Department for its “grossly negligent” policy on classrooms for kindergarten classes.
He criticized a department order to principals and school heads to use everything, including other available spaces, to provide kindergarten classrooms.
“In practice, ‘other available spaces’ means that kindergarten classes will be held under stairwells, in corridors, storage rooms and under the proverbial mango tree,” Tinio said.
Despite the acute shortages, Education Secretary Armin Luistro said his department was optimistic that the first day of classes would run smoothly today as more than 21.49 million students troop to the 45,900 schools nationwide.
He acknowledged that “volunteer” kindergarten teachers were underpaid, and that the department had approved the hiring of only 3,741 last year.
The department would be hiring 3,000 more this year, he said, adding that the passage of the kindergarten education bill would enable the government to appoint all “volunteer” teachers on a regular basis. With Gigi Muñoz-David
Govt underpays kinder teachers
No comments:
Post a Comment