THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers again urged the Department of Education to upgrade the salaries of public school teachers nationwide.

The group reiterated its call for the government to “correct” teachers’ pay by raising it from salary grade 11 to salary grade 15.

“Splitting the release of our salaries does little to help teachers as it doesn’t resolve the age-old issue of poor pay among grappling educators that have long denied them decent standards of living and due recognition for their contribution to national development. Teachers remain to be the lowest paid professional in the country. It’s time to address this injustice,” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, said.

Education Undersecretary for finance Annalyn Sevilla earlier cited the department’s efforts to help teachers in their “personal financial management” and keep them away from loan sharks.

ACT argued, however,  that the root of these issues is the low salaries of teachers.

“Teachers’ economic hardships stem from the very basic problem of low salaries. It’s well-known how teachers struggle to feed their families and shoulder the costs of education even before the pandemic hit,” Basilio said.

“They have long suffered the effects of poor support from the government and rising prices of goods and commodities, which only worsened amid the health and socio-economic crises. These are what compels them to turn to debts. Hindi ito masasagot ng simpleng kinsenas na pasuweldo. Ang pangako sa amin dobleng suweldo, ang ibibigay sa amin dalawang bigayan ng suweldo? Para naman kaming ini-scam ng gobyernong Duterte,” Basilio said.

President Rodrigo Duterte promised to double teachers’ salaries but has yet to fulfill it.

“With DepEd’s acknowledgment that teachers in fact struggle financially, we urge them to join us in demanding the long overdue pay hike for nearly a million of its employees. Teachers deserve decent pay. We call on the government to finally upgrade teachers’ salaries to salary grade 15,” Basilio said.