SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian stressed that teachers should be promoted based on merit rather than quotas to create more opportunities for career development and professional advancement.

Gatchalian raised this point during a subcommittee hearing of the Senate Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization, and Professional Regulation, which reviewed proposed measures on the Career Progression System for Public School Teachers.

“The quota is a limiting factor for growth. That’s why they cannot grow because there is a quota. Even though we have a career progression, if a quota is imposed, it will hinder its effect,” said Gatchalian.

“It has to be merit-based, it should not be quota-based,” he added.

The senator’s office analyzed the career progression system before Executive Order No. 174 established the expanded career progression system for public school teachers.

The analysis showed that only 14% of Teachers III would be promoted to Master Teacher I, a process taking 10-15 years. Furthermore, only 7% of Teacher III could advance to Head Teacher, while just 5% of Teachers III through Master Teachers IV could become school principals.

According to the Second Congressional Commission on Education, the quota system, which limits teacher promotion, was established under the Position Classification and Compensation Scheme.

Teachers I-III make up 92% of educators in the Department of Education.

The senator’s office also found that four out of 10 Teachers II have been in service for over a decade, and almost seven out of 10 Teachers III have served for more than 10 years.

To address these limitations, Gatchalian filed the Career Progression System for Public School Teachers Act (Senate Bill No. 2827) to institutionalize career development pathways in teaching, school administration, and supervision.