PANGASINAN Rep. Rosemarie ‘Baby’ Arenas has filed a bill that will increase the entry-level pay for teachers to a minimum of P30,000.

House Bill 4495 seeks to adjust the minimum starting salary for public school teachers, technical vocational instructors and higher education teaching personnel to at least P30,000 and P35,000, respectively.

The Pangasinan lawmaker pointed out that teachers have the lowest pay compared with other professionals.

She said that a Police Officer 1 receives P29,668 while a Teacher 1 gets only P20,754.

The measure also mandates the Department of Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Commission on Higher Education to develop a reasonable and efficient performance evaluation system for teaching personnel that is observation-based.

These agencies shall establish training programs for the teachers’ and instructors’ continuing professional development.

Arenas said that giving teachers the right incentives will encourage them to remain in the noble profession of educating and molding young people to become productive citizens.