THE TEACHERS’ Dignity Coalition appealed to the government to extend the services of more than 1,000 Senior High School teachers who have been terminated.

These teachers have been on probationary status since 2016 because they either failed to secure a teaching license or were not able to take the licensure examination. The group said that these teachers have been notified that their last day of work is May 31, 2021.

“These colleagues have consistently performed satisfactory to excellent tasks as evidenced by their continuous rehiring up to the present school year. They have contributed greatly to the success of DepEd’s Senior High School program as pioneers in spite of the system’s challenges due to birth pains and thus, are considered assets of the Department,” Benjo Basas, the group’s national chairperson, said.

Basas wrote to the Department of Education, Professional Regulations Commission and the Civil Service Commission appealing for the extension of the teachers’ service.

He said that unavoidable circumstances due to the pandemic hampered the teachers’ pursuit of a professional teaching license, a requirement for their hiring as permanent teachers.

“Despite their dedication and service, the Covid19 pandemic prevented them from pursuing the licensure requirement set forth by law. It is a known fact the Professional Regulations Commission has suspended the licensure examination for teachers in 2020 and will only resume the said examination this coming September,” Basas added.

The TDC said that the policy to let go of teachers without licenses would further obstruct the services of many schools offering senior high school program like in the case of a school in Aurora province.

“Isa lang ang aming Senior High School teacher at probationary pa ang status, Humanities and Social Sciences ang offered namin sa school kaya eksakto dahil Social Science post graduate ang degree niya. Ang kulang na lang talaga sa kanya ay lisensiya. Sa school, kasama siya sa milestone namin bilang kauna-unahang SHS teacher na tumanggap sa hamon upang magturo sa mga kabataan sa lugar na walang signal, walang kalsada, walang kuryente, at walang internet.  Sana ay bigyang pansin ng CSC ang mga bagay na ito,” said Marvin Sinacay, school head of Dimanayat Integrated School in Aurora’s San Luis town,  referring to his colleague Rolly Franquia.

For Joel Caspe, a teacher of Muntinlupa National High School’s maritime track and a holder of license in maritime profession, this would affect the education of his students.

“Kaya po ako nakapagturo sa senior high school ay dahil sa aking experience sa pagbabarko. Inakala ko na dahil sa board passer na ako sa maritime ay mapapahintulutan na akong ma-permanent. Kung hindi na ako makapagpapatuloy ay lubhang maaapektuhan ang mga klase ko. Hindi ba priority ng DepEd ang education ng mga bata, paano na ngayon? Sana mapagbigyan na ma-extend ang aming pagtuturo,” he said.

Another teacher of Muntinlupa, Charito Viray, a graduate of accountancy and a former accounting instructor in a private college for 25 years, was among those whose services have been terminated.

“Ako po ay single parent dahil balo na po ako, may tatlo po akong anak at nasa pangangalaga ko rin ang aking mga matatanda nang magulang kaya sa panahon ng pandemya kung mawawalan ng hanapbuhay ay napakalaking kawalan po ito sa aking buong pamilya. Ako po ay nakaramdam ng panlulumo dahil hanggang May 31 na lamang po ang aking trabaho. Sana mabigyan pa kami ng pagkakaton,” Viray said.

In Tawi-tawi province, Al-Marin Sipin, a teacher of Boloboc Science and Technology High School, sought consideration.

“I am here to ask for consideration and extension for our contract, because the LET has been postponed 3 times. Kung tatanggalin po kami after our contract hindi lang kami ang maapektuhan pati rin mga taong umaasa sa amin at lalong lalo na ang mahal naming mga estudyante at ang aking pangarap sa aming paaralan,” he said.

Basas noted that the school year will end on July 10, 2021, thus teachers should automatically be retained up to July 10 of this year, at the least.

The PRC gave assurances that teachers affected by the policy will be prioritized in the scheduled examination in September.