By TDC national chairman Benjo Basas
The Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) has raised concerns about a potential brain drain as Filipino teachers continue to leave the country to work abroad. According to data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), which were also cited by senators during the deliberations on the Department of Education’s (DepEd) 2024 budget, an average of 1,500 Filipino teachers have left the country each year over the past three years.
The number might be even higher in 2024. This is alarming because we might eventually run out of teachers in the Philippines.
In 2024 alone, I personally know at least 10 teachers who have decided to move to the United States to teach, and many more are contemplating doing the same.
This shows how widespread the issue is across schools divisions nationwide. You can even see it almost daily in the social media posts packing up their uniforms, bidding farewell to co-teachers, and sharing pictures of their contracts or plane tickets. It is heartbreaking because they often say they don’t really want to do this, but they have no choice.
During the group’s consultations with teachers, particularly those in the US, three main reasons emerged as to why they choose to leave despite their reservations. First, the extremely low salaries for public school teachers in the Philippines. Second, the heavy workload, which includes not only teaching but also clerical and other tasks that burden Filipino teachers daily. Third, the toxic working environment, which according to them, includes the poor physical condition of faculty lounges, unfair treatment of employees especially in promotions and opportunities excessive regulations in the teaching profession, and the lack of social welfare policies. All these factors contribute to an unhealthy workplace.
For instance, Ronald George Folloso, who taught for 11 years in Caloocan City, resigned last June and has now begun his teaching career at a public school in Bamberg County, South Carolina. He is set to earn a total of $62,000 or approximately P3.5 million annually, compared to the P730,000 he received in salaries and benefits as a Master Teacher 1 in the Philippines, which is actually way higher than the earnings of an average Filipino teacher holding the position of Teacher 1-3.
Teachers here receive adequate support from their schools, in addition to receiving significantly higher compensation that reflects the value of their profession. Everything is provided laptops, learning resources, and interactive classrooms equipped with technology in an air-conditioned environment, with class sizes limited to 15-18 students. We can also focus more on teaching since were only required to complete minimal paperwork, Folloso said.
While Folloso didn’t initially plan to leave, he shared that he felt staying with DepEd would prevent him from achieving his future goals for himself and his family.
We work not just to get by each day; we work to build a future for ourselves and our families. Its normal to seek greener pastures, but in doing so, work-life balance is essential, and teaching in the U.S. offers that, Folloso added.
This alarming trend should be addressed by both the DepEd and the legislature.
In short, our government does not care enough for our teachers. The teaching profession is among the lowest paid in the government and has suffered from decades-long neglect in terms of benefits, opportunities, rights, and welfare. In the Philippines, the so-called noblest of all professions is not a priority at all. Teachers dignity is not a priority Basas exclaimed.
The teaching profession should be one of the top choices for the best students, not the least, as it may currently appear to be.
If we do not want to lose more teachers, the government must work hard to find ways to fulfill its constitutional mandate to ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment, Basas concluded, quoting a portion of Article XIV, Section 5 of the 1987 Constitution.