ACT pushes P50K entry salary for teachers

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) is advocating for a substantial hike in the starting monthly salary of public school teachers to P50,000—a move that Education Secretary Edgardo “Sonny” Angara appears open to supporting, though not spearheading.

The proposal, filed in Congress by ACT party-list Representative Antonio Tinio and Kabataan party-list Representative Renee Louise Co, was brought up during a recent dialogue between ACT and Secretary Angara. ACT Chairperson Vladimir Quetua described the meeting as encouraging.

“His exact reaction was, ‘I don’t have a problem with that (proposed P50,000 salary for teachers).’ However, he said that since he is part of the executive, ‘let us just help each other. I will propose it. I will help you with your call, but I will not primarily push for it,” Quetua quoted Angara as saying.

In addition to the salary proposal, Angara committed to addressing concerns related to the pilot rollout of the revised senior high school curriculum.

The education chief also met with officials from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to explore ways of strengthening human rights education in public schools. 

During the meeting, CHR Commissioner Beda Epres provided DepEd with instructional materials to help teachers integrate human rights concepts into their lessons and foster civic responsibility among students.

Another priority area identified by the Department of Education is the intensification of anti-bullying initiatives, following a string of reported incidents in schools across the country.