Angara to strictly implement 6-hour teaching policy

MANILA, Philippines — Education Secretary Sonny Angara has assured teachers that the Department of Education (DepEd) will oversee the strict implementation of the six-hour maximum teaching period per day as mandated under Republic Act 4670 or the Magna Carta of Public School Teachers, amid complains of teaching overload under the MATATAG curriculum.

“Yes, we are listening to them (teachers) and we are looking into it. Supposedly, the actual teaching hours should not go beyond six hours, but from what we are hearing, there are some that would have to teach beyond six hours,” Angara said on the sidelines of a MOA-signing event with Khan Academy Philippines Inc. (Khan PH) at the DepEd central office in Pasig City on Friday.

“We really need to be very strict about that (six-hour teaching policy) so that our teachers won’t get overworked and burned out,” Angara added.

He admitted that the DepEd has also been receiving reports that some teachers are being forced to teach subjects beyond their expertise.

“Based on the few situations on the ground, we really have to correct that, because sometimes the load of the teachers does not match their subject of expertise,” he added.

Furthermore, Angara said that aside from the 5,000 administrative staff set to be hired this year, the DepEd has requested from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) additional funding for the hiring of 10,000 more, to ensure that teachers will not be burdened with administrative tasks.

“I think we asked for 10,000 more from the DBM. They gave us 5,000 for this year. But that will not be enough, not all schools will be given (administrative staff). There are clusters of three schools to one administrative officer, which is difficult,” Angara said.

Teachers group Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) had earlier lamented that the MATATAG curriculum is expected to increase teachers’ workload by 30 percent or from six teaching loads per teacher to eight teaching loads per teacher.

“This means more students and classes to focus on, more outputs to check and more grades to compute. Also, there are extended class hours for children, which may last until 8 p.m. or later in some schools. This gambles