PH Magna Carta for Teachers: Teaching Hours and other Outdated Policies

In any education of quality, students encounter an abundance of intellectual diversity—new knowledge, different perspectives, competing ideas, and alternative claims of truth (AAC&U, 2006). True enough, diversity in perspectives and ideas, as opposed to an autocratic approach, offers a good kind of change. The complexity and diversity usually bring good results to the educational system. The same for the type of governance in the Philippine Education system we have today. However, this is often neglected due to various reasons. One of the reasons is the educators' academic and professional limitations and inhibition.

 

Republic Act No. 4670, or the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, states quite comprehensive policies applicable to teachers engaged in classroom instruction. Its goal is to promote and strengthen the social and economic standing of public school teachers, as well as their employment conditions, living standards, and career opportunities. This will allow them to compare well with chances already available in other fields, draw more qualified individuals to the teaching profession, and keep them there. (Robles, 2001). Security of tenure, salary scale, cost of living allowance, study and indefinite leave, and the freedom to organize is, in all fairness, followed. 

 

However, no system is perfect. The Magna Carta may be pretty ideal than the other Acts and policies, but it still has its share of issues and flaws. One of them is the number of teaching hours. Teachers may be asked to render more than six hours of actual classroom instruction a day, but not exceeding eight hours. However, based on personal experience, this depends entirely on the School Heads (SHs) interpretation. Some SHs require the teachers to stay in school for 7-8 hours or 6-7 hours of teaching plus extra tasks. Or both. This system birthed two issues: teachers are already loaded with tasks that affect the student’s access to high-quality instructions and the inability to attain professional growth and development.

 

What makes prestigious universities, such as Harvard and Princeton, globally competitive? According to Jamil Salmi, author of The Challenge of Establishing World-Class Universities, one of the factors is a high concentration of talented teachers, researchers, and students. They constantly vie for excellence. Philippine public schools, however, are absorbed by quantity rather than quality. School Report Card (SRC) reflects a number of dropouts and failed subjects. The data may be steered according to a particular goal. If the students are on the verge of dropping out, the administrator may devise programs and projects that narrowly cater to the issue. One of these programs is the modular mode of instruction. Again, the problem stems from the fact that most of the teachers are loaded with regular classes already to attend to the needs of the modular students. And so, the high quality of instructions is compromised.

 

Also, the Act specifies, required medical examination shall be offered free of charge for all instructors before they take up teaching, and shall be performed not less than once a year during the teacher's professional life. It seems ideal when teachers only get free x-ray and urinalyses annually, which would be interpreted by an irate community doctor. Free medical assistance is never given to public school teachers.

 

The Act also states that after spending at least six hours a day teaching in a classroom, teachers must get an additional payment of at least 25% of their regular salary. Due to excessive workload, teachers tend to stay in school longer than 8 hours without receiving additional compensation.

 

The essential questions now are these: Is it high time for the lawmakers to junk this Act and create a new one that is more realistic and specific? How can they decide on a new policy without compromising the quality of education? A policy still anchored to the needs of the community and society?  

 

 

References:

Abacademies.org. (2020). Retrieved 18 October 2020, from https://www.abacademies.org/articles/shared-governance-opportunities-and-challenges-1528-2643-22-2-121.pdf.

Academic Freedom and Educational Responsibility. Association of American Colleges & Universities. (2006). Retrieved 18 October 2020, from https://www.aacu.org/about/statements/academic-freedom.

 

Ronald Echalas Diaz, O. (2020). Republic Act No. 4670 - Chanrobles.com. Retrieved 8 November 2020, from https://www.chanrobles.com/Republic%20Act%20No.%204670,%20Magna%20Carta%

20for%20Public%20School%20Teachers.pdf