Standing with teachers: Include faculty in state universities and colleges
As we culminate National Teachers’ Month and celebrate World Teachers’ Day on Oct. 5, we honor Filipino teachers across basic, higher, and technical-vocational education. This year’s global theme, “Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures,” reminds us that honoring teachers must extend beyond ceremonies and greetings. It must be reflected in their professional status and compensation.
For thousands of Department of Education (DepEd) teachers, this year’s celebration carries additional significance because of the Expanded Career Progression System. In September, the Department of Budget and Management released an additional P8.68 billion covering salary differentials for 93,344 reclassified positions whose career advancement had already been approved.
The situation in higher education raises a different question: Are we valuing the qualifications and responsibilities expected of our faculty in state universities and colleges (SUCs)?
An Instructor I in an SUC remains at Salary Grade 12, with 2026 monthly compensation starting at roughly P34,000 and increasing according to the salary step. Yet entry into the position generally requires a master’s degree.
During Commission on Higher Education’s (CHEd) budget deliberations, ACT Teachers party list Rep. Antonio Tinio questioned this disparity and called the current minimum compensation an “injustice.” CHEd chair Shirley Agrupis acknowledged concerns involving plantilla positions and said CHEd would discuss them with the Civil Service Commission. Tinio requested that CHEd submit a position paper recommending a higher minimum salary grade for SUC instructors.
The issue deserves policy examination. Under DepEd’s career structure, classroom teaching positions now extend from Teacher I through Teacher VII and onward to the Master Teacher ranks. The contrast becomes striking when an Instructor I is expected to possess a master’s degree while beginning at SG 12.
House Bill No. 8968, principally authored by Tinio with Representatives Sarah Jane Elago and Renee Louise Co, proposes a P50,000 minimum salary for higher-education teaching personnel. Another pending measure proposes upgrading higher-education teaching personnel to SG 16.
SUC faculty do have the ongoing JC3 Cycle 2 Faculty Reclassification mechanism, but its demanding evaluation standards and extensive documentary requirements demonstrate why career progression alone cannot substitute for reviewing entry-level compensation.
Several policy questions merit consideration: whether Instructor I should be upgraded from SG 12; whether qualification requirements and compensation across education sectors should be harmonized; and whether higher salaries should be accompanied by stronger faculty standards.
If the government raises entry-level compensation substantially, SUCs can reasonably be expected to maintain rigorous hiring standards, including completed, legitimate graduate degrees from reputable institutions, and strengthen safeguards against questionable credentials.
Standing with teachers means examining both what we demand from educators and what we provide them in return. Filipino teachers should feel valued not only every Teachers’ Day, but every day they teach, research, mentor, innovate, and serve the nation.
Danilo V. Rogayan Jr.,
danrogayan@prmsu.edu.ph
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