EDUCATION Secretary Sara Duterte vowed to support teachers and uplift teaching quality in the country as she recognized their big role in educating the youth.

“Teachers are critical to the success of education. When they are supported, education quality improves,” Duterte said.

“We also recognize your sacrifices. We thank you for your sacrifices. Maraming salamat po sa inyong dedikasyon. Hindi po namin kayo pababayaan,” she added.

She said that the agency will remove the administrative task of teachers and will continuously advocate for additional benefits and address issues affecting their pay.

“We will remove non-teaching tasks and provide administrative officers in schools. We will provide adequate manpower complement in schools, manage teachers’ workload, and compensate teachers for unique school challenges,” Duterte said.

“We will continuously advocate for additional benefits for our teachers. We will work towards addressing issues affecting the net-take-home pay of teachers,” she added.

The DepEd chief said she will also request the Department of Budget and Management to expand the coverage of Special Hardship Allowances and closely coordinate with the GSIS for an improved benefits package for all personnel.

“We will continuously provide professional development programs, including graduate degree scholarship programs to teachers focusing on their learning area specialization and graduate certificate programs for nonmajors,” Duterte said.