By Teachers’ Dignity Coalition national chairman Benjo Basas
As the new school year commences, we are raising concerns regarding the Department of Education (DepEd) Order 5, s. 2024 and DepEd Order 10, s. 2024, both concerning teachers workload in relation to the MATATAG curriculum. We previously sent letters to DepEd asking for clarification and requesting a dialogue, even before the school year 2023-2024 closed.
Despite our patience and willingness to wait, we now wish to clarify several matters related to this issue, especially with the start of classes.
DepEd Order 5, s. 2024 is entitled Rationalization of Teachers’ Workload in Public Schools and Payment of Teaching Overload:
The requirement to render six hours of actual classroom teaching is being overstretched, with some teachers handling seven-eight sections without breaks, neglecting their physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Additional teaching loads from different grade levels are being assigned to teachers to meet the so-called six-hour requirement.
Some teachers are at risk of being declared excess and transferred to other schools, violating Section 6 of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, or Republic Act (RA) 4670.
These issues stem from the portion of the order stating that teachers are “required to render six-hour actual classroom teaching,” which deviates from the Magna Carta provision that teachers ‘shall not be required to render more than six hours of actual classroom teaching a day.
Provisions of RA 4670 do not require the full six hours for actual teaching and have since allowed teachers to teach for less than six hours, have breaks in between classes and to go home after spending six hours in schools.
RA 4670 was enacted to protect teachers’ rights and welfare and has faced numerous challenges since its approval 58 years ago. A significant milestone occurred in 2008 when the Civil Service Commission ordered DepEd to formulate guidelines ensuring teachers would only stay in school for six hours, with no more than six hours of actual classroom teaching.
However, the noble intent of this law has often been blatantly ignored. It appears they lack comprehension of the challenges of teaching seven to eight sections, particularly when crammed into a six-hour period.
We initially anticipated that DepEd 5, s. 2024 would fulfill this advocacy, but it appears we were wrong. This policy, which promises overtime pay, has turned out to be a tool for further exploiting the physical and intellectual labor of our teachers, resulting in overwork, anxiety, stress, and demoralization.
A bill filed by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian seeking to amend the working hours provision of the law and reduce it to not more than four hours of classroom teaching is currently pending before the Senate.
We remain steadfast in its campaign for the full and correct implementation of the Magna Carta.