Lawmarker seeks to reduce the non-teaching load of teachers

Public school teachers in the country are undeniably loaded with teaching functions on a day-to-day basis. Alarmingly, they are even more loaded with the non-teaching responsibilities being given to them by their superiors which massively affects their teaching performance.

It is for this reason why the Hon. Marlyn B. Alonte of the Lone District of Biñan proposes to reduce the non-teaching loads of all public school elementary and secondary teachers in the country.

In her House Bill No. 5562, she rendered the following major points in her explanatory note:

The public basic education schools have a chronic lack of non-teaching personnel considering the 27 million student population nationwide under the management of the Department of Education. Approval of new non-teaching positions has been difficult.

Administrative work and other non-teaching responsibilities, the principal/head teacher/teacher-in-charge delegates to already overworked, overburdened, and underpaid public school teachers. Time has come for the beginning of the ned of the administrative work overload of teachers so they can focus on teaching, professional advancement, and work-life balance.

Thi bill provides that the appropriate and qualified administrative personnel shall be responsible for the performance and discharge of non-classroom teaching functions and roles on campus.

In this bill, the School Principal/Head Teacher/Teacher-in-Charge as chief administrative officer of the school is given authority to hire as many job order, contract of services personnel, and casual personnel as may be deemed necessary, subject to availability of funds and provided that the hiring and contracts are approved by a two-thirds majority of the entire composition of the Management Committee and by the Schools District Supervisor upon recommendation of the ranking district auditor.

In this bill, every public basic education school is required to have official social media account for open communication with stakeholders on campus and outside the campus. There is also an explicit rile of students publications in school affairs, particularly with the EIC or Managing Editor being a non-voting, non-participating observer in meetings of the Management Committee.

IMPORTANT NEWS for TEACHERS (Click here)

FREE DOWNLOAD: Reading and Instructional Materials