The Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday (April 19) welcomed the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to include teachers in the A4 priority list of the national vaccination program.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said the vaccination of the group, which may begin in June, is timely to ensure the welfare of teachers during their busy period. Teachers were previously listed under Group B.
Briones said they initially estimated that 1.2 million teachers and other support personnel would need inoculation. But since some teachers with comorbidities and those above 60 years old were included in other lists, the figure went down to 791,000.
Meanwhile, the official said they are proposing more programs for teachers, including the increase of honoraria for those who will serve in the 2022 national elections.
“Halimbawa, sa chief ng grupo ng teachers na nagma-man ng elections, 6,000. Ang request namin ay very humble increase na gawing 9,000 pesos [For example, the payment to the chief of the teachers’ groups manning the election (is) P6,000. Our request is a very humble increase to P9,000],” she said.
“Pagkatapos ‘yung members naman…5,000 dati, and kung pwede i-increase to 8,000 [For the members, from P5,000 to P8,000],” she added. – Report from Mela Lesmoras/AG-jlo
