Press Release - EDCOM 2 pushes for institutionalization of the Teacher Career Progression System

"We want to clearly identify the paths for our teachers. Improving morale not only comes in the form of remuneration and salary, but it also comes in the form of career progression, improvement in skills, improvement in their mobility in their careers. And hopefully we can also see teachers as leaders in the education system". This is what EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Senator Win Gatchalian said during his opening statement in a Senate hearing to discuss bills on the Expanded Career Progression System for Public School Teachers.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education, and the Department of Education (DepEd), along with other stakeholders are pushing for the institutionalization of the Teacher Career Progression System, aiming to address long-standing challenges in teacher promotion and career development.

On October 22, 2024 the Senate Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation (Subcommittee on Career Progression System for Public School Teachers) joint with Basic Education and Finance held a public hearing to discuss bills filed by Senator Jinggoy Estrada, Representative Yedda Romualdez, and EDCOM 2 Co-Chairpersons Senator Win Gatchalian and Rep. Roman Romulo, along with Commissioners Senator Loren Legarda and Rep. Jude Acidre.

Findings from EDCOM 2 reveal that the existing career progression system has been hampered by a shortage of available plantilla positions in schools and school division offices.

Despite many teachers and school leaders qualifying for Master Teacher roles, opportunities for promotion have been constrained by the limited number of these positions. This limitation has stunted professional growth and mobility for educators across the education sector.

A quota system, as stipulated under the Position Classification and Compensation Scheme (PCCS) (DBM Manual on PCCS, Chapter 6, 2004), further exacerbates the issue. For elementary schools, Master Teacher positions are capped at 10% of the total teacher positions, with 6.6% for Master Teacher I and 3.4% for Master Teacher II. Secondary schools face similar constraints, with one Master Teacher position allowed per subject area for every 5 to 7 authorized