MANILA, Philippines – As part of its efforts to improve teachers’ welfare, the Department of Education (DepEd) issued an order to streamline their workload. According to the order, teachers should not exceed six hours of classroom teaching per day. If they do, they will be entitled to overload pay.
“A teacher shall not be required to render more than six hours of actual classroom teaching in a day in accordance with Republic Act 4670 or the Magna Carta of Teachers,” read the DepEd order 5 signed by Education Secretary Sonny Angara.
The order also stated that ancillary tasks necessary to complete the eight-hour workday for teachers can be performed both on and off school premises. Teachers who have taught for six hours, as recorded in their daily time logs, are considered to have fulfilled their required working hours.
“They must not be considered undertime and must not be subjected to salary deductions,” the order read.
How overload pay is computed
According to the DepEd order, the overload pay is determined by multiplying the total teaching overload hours by prime hourly teaching rate (PHTR), which is dependent on the salary grade and step level.
Below is how PHTR is determined.
The DepEd provided the sample scenario below for a teacher 1 earning P27,000.
The DepEd noted that overload pay of teachers should not exceed 50% of their salary per year. For the whole process of claiming overload pay, submission of requirements will be done at the school level; the processing of payment will take place at the schools division office (SDO); and the budget utilization reporting will be handled by the SDO and the finance unit of the regional office.
The following documents are needed:
- DepEd Electronic School Form 7
- daily time record, and other applicable documents
- endorsement memo
- list of teachers with overload pay provided by the school head
Teachers’ groups have been advocating for improved compensation from the government, and this latest order is a welcome development. They have consistently fought for better welfare, as many teachers have been leaving the country in their quest for higher pay and better working conditions.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers described the DepEd order as a “victory,” emphasizing their long-standing struggle for overload compensation for teachers since the enactment of the Magna Carta. – Rappler.com