The silver lining in ‘hardship’ posts

The silver lining in ‘hardship’ posts
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BORONGAN CITY -- Every Monday, it takes Albert Azul, head teacher of Pinanag-an Elementary School, over two hours to reach the last barangay of Borongan City. He and his fellow teachers ride a motorcycle and a motorboat to cross a river and a mountain to get to their school.

“There are times that the current is so strong that it’ll be hard to walk or even go by boat. There are even instances when I had to jump off the boat because it can’t stand the water current,” he said.

Because of the distance from the city center and the arduous journey, Albert would stay there for the week until Friday afternoon and just go back home for the weekend.

Photo by Albert Azul

Motivation to do more and be more

Teachers like Albert, who handle pure multigrade classes or those in remote, hard-to-travel-to or high-risk areas, now receive an allowance of 25 percent of their monthly salary with the Special Hardship Allowance (SHA).

Through the SHA, he was able to fund further education and earn a master’s degree at Eastern Samar State University.

The Hardship Index determines which teachers will receive SHA. Last year, the Department of Education (DepEd) lowered the index cut-off from 0.37 to 0.33, allowing more teachers to qualify.

The index, which Unicef Philippines helped develop, is a tool designed to determine the degree of hardship of a particular school. It measures factors like commute time, facilities, poverty, amenities, and disaster risks. The higher the score, the higher the degree of hardship.

The SHA has supported at least 4,000 schools and at least 38,000 educators annually.

Supporting each other

However, the distribution of the allowance can still be improved. Some of the variables used in the index are difficult to collect, and unfortunately, some schools entered wrong data.

DepEd and Unicef are currently working to improve the index, as well as the eventual allowance distribution for 2025 so it would reflect the situation on the ground. Initial simulation results are already looking better than the current implementation.

Albert hopes all deserving schools and teachers receive the allowance. He cites kindergarten teacher Rho-ann Calvadores as an example. Despite not teaching a multigrade class, Rho-ann works in a high-risk school. She is currently facing significant hospital bills for her grandmother's treatment.

Albert and his co-teachers who receive the stipend donate P1,000 per quarter to Teacher Rho-Ann to compensate for her ineligibility. This shows that a strong sense of community can help address some of the issues facing the country’s education system.

Visit www.unicef.ph to know more about the work we’re doing for every child, everywhere, or follow them on FB at unicefphilippines, X at @unicefphils, IG at @unicefphils, TikTok at @unicefph, and YouTube at @unicefphilippines. (PR)

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