(Eagle News)–The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition has asked the government to address its concerns, as teachers gear up for the opening of classes in public schools today, June 3.
In a statement, Benjo Basas, TDC national chair, said there was a need to “immediately grant the increase in the salaries of public school teachers as promised by President Rodrigo Duterte himself.”
He also urged the government to “cancel the anomalous and unjust policies of the GSIS” or set up a “separate insurance system for public school teachers and DepEd employees and to allocate funds to fully implement the welfare provisions of the 53-year-old Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.
“We need enactment of laws or at least legislative oversight in order to pursue these agenda, and the support of the Education Secretary is crucial,” Basas added.
He said the following were concerns that were within the power of the Education Secretary.
The group called on the immediate suspension of the implementation of the results-based performance management system and for the “widest consultation possible,” a halt to the implementation of DepEd Order No. 42 or the use of Daily Lesson Log (DLL) and Detailed Lesson Plan (DLP), a halt to class observations and the ban on Saturday classes and required meetings during weekends.
The group also called on the full implementation of the six-hour workday nationwide with uniformity based on existing rules, the hiring of non-teaching personnel that will accomplish clerical tasks; and the provision of health benefits and privilege leaves for teachers within the school year.
“The DepEd should address the welfare concerns of our teachers as well,” the group said.