THE DEPARTMENT of Education (DepEd) is seeking Congress’ support to provide separate compensation for public school teachers serving as tutors under the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the department recognizes the crucial role of teachers in implementing the ARAL Program, which delivers targeted learning recovery interventions for students who need additional support in reading, mathematics, and other foundational skills.

However, Angara emphasized that any additional compensation for DepEd teachers serving as ARAL tutors must comply with existing laws and available budget appropriations.

“The DepEd’s position is clear: We want to support and recognize the additional work our teachers perform under the ARAL Program. But we must also comply with existing laws and work within the budget allocated to us. We will provide compensation once there is a clear legal basis and sufficient funding,” Angara said.

DepEd said it has already studied possible compensation schemes for ARAL tutors. Based on its initial estimates, implementing a uniform-rate compensation scheme would require approximately P4.307 billion, while adopting a Prime Hourly Teaching Rate-based approach would require at least P7.266 billion.

The department said it is now seeking legislative support to establish a legal basis and secure the necessary funding to compensate teachers for their additional responsibilities under the ARAL Program.

The ARAL Program is one of the government’s flagship initiatives aimed at addressing learning gaps and improving literacy and numeracy among Filipino learners through targeted academic interventions.