By Brian Campued
Stressing that a more balanced workload for teachers will help improve the learning outcomes of students, Education Secretary Sonny Angara has signed a memorandum defining new guidelines in rationalizing the workload of teachers and providing compensation for rendering overtime work.
In a news release Wednesday, the Department of Education (DepEd) reiterated that teachers are only required to teach six hours a day and are entitled to receive overload pay for up to two additional hours of teaching per day.
“By optimizing teachers’ workloads and providing fair compensation for additional duties, we are creating a more balanced and sustainable environment for our educators,” Angara stated.
“This will ultimately enhance student learning outcomes,” he added.
Signed by Angara on Sept. 27, the DepEd Memorandum No. 53, s. 2024 will serve as a supplemental issuance to streamline the application of the key provisions of DepEd Order No. 5, s. 2024 or the Rationalization of Teachers’ Workload in Public Schools and Payment of Teaching Overload.
Under the memorandum, teachers with more than a six-hour teaching load may earn vacation service credits (VSC), while those with actual teaching loads below six hours may be assigned teaching-related tasks.
Teachers will also have flexibility in completing ancillary tasks, with the option to perform them inside or outside school premises and without additional reporting requirements to be imposed. They will “simply track their activities using logbooks, locator slips, or certificates of undertaking,” according to DepEd.
“These guidelines ensure that teaching overloads are managed transparently, with clear procedures for compensation and equitable workload distribution,” the agency said.
DepEd said the issuance of the implementing guidelines on rationalizing the workload of teachers and overload compensation is in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to prioritize the welfare of Filipino educators. —iro