Senate Bill pushes a Salary of P42,099 for Teachers

A Senate Bill was filed to upgrade the minimum salary grade level of public school teachers. Senator Angara has been pushing this bill to be approved so that teachers would have enough means to support their families. From salary grade 11, he wants to bring it higher to salary grade 19 which will give a salary of P42,099.00 to entry-level teachers.

Senate Bill 135

AN ACT UPGRADING THE MINIMUM SALARY GRADE LEVEL OF TEACHERS FROM SALARY GRADE 11 TO 19

     Public school teachers are among the most underpaid workers, given their workload and
role in the society. Despite the fact that they are heralded as molders of our children’s future
and second parents to our children, public school teachers receive a basic salary that does not
equate to their contribution. Our teachers are considered to be the heart of the educational
system. Hence, the government needs to give priority to their welfare and interests.

    
     The low salaries received by our public school teachers have been a major disincentive
for them to improve their skills in teaching and pursue further education and training. More so,
our public schools have failed to attract the best and the brightest graduates from the top
colleges and universities because of low salary levels, preventing our public education system
from benefiting from the knowledge and expertise of outstanding teachers. Especially with the
recent implementation of the K-12 law, having inspired and capable teachers is probably one of
the best investments our government could make.

     In this regard, this bill seeks to raise the minimum salary grade level of teachers from the
current Salary Grade 11 to 19. With this increase in salaries, more qualified and competent
educators will be attracted to teach in public schools. Definitely, this will greatly help in
motivating our teachers to strive for excellence in their field and thus, improve the quality of
education in the public school system.

For the abovementioned reasons, approval of this bill is earnestly urged.

SONNY ANGARA