DepEd: Teachers not required to teach over six hours

MANILA, Philippines — After months of clamor from teachers’ groups, the Department of Education (DepEd) has ordered schools not to force educators to teach more than six hours, as stated under the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.

In a memorandum signed on Sept. 27, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said teachers may render additional teaching loads but should be compensated.

“Actual teaching loads in excess of six hours shall be compensated through payment of teaching overload, provided that it does not exceed two hours per day as stipulated in Republic Act 4670,” Angara noted, citing the Magna Carta for Public School teachers and DepEd Order No. 5.

He added that only “actual classroom teaching rendered” per subject and class advising duties are treated as teaching load and should be counted as part of the six-hour daily teaching load.

Under the Sept. 27 memorandum, the teaching overload pay should be the total overload hours multiplied by the prime hourly teaching rate.

This means that if the monthly basic salary of one teacher is P27,000 and they rendered 22.75 hours of teaching overload for one month, they shall be compensated with an additional P5,756.75.

Meanwhile, Angara said all teachers who have rendered six hours of actual classroom teaching would be deemed to have satisfied the daily working hours and should not be subject to salary deductions.

DO 5, which contains guidelines for the teaching overload pay and six-hour teaching under the Matatag curriculum, was opposed by teachers group as it has caused more burdens instead of easing them for overworked public school teachers.

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) earlier said it should be suspended as it has become a “legal basis to scourge” teachers under the Matatag curriculum.

While the TDC noted that DO 5 promised teaching overload pay for teachers who exceed six hours of classroom instruction, it also requires teachers to teach six hours daily, a violation of “the spirit and letter of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.”

The group said forcing compliance with the six-hour policy could render teachers preparing multiple lessons or be assigned subjects and grade levels they are not