In Bohol public schools: Board passer teachers are ‘paid like maids’

Department of Education (DepEd) – Bohol superintendent Dr. Lorna Rances wearily revealed in a school board meeting called by Gov. Edgar Chatto about the plight of board passer teachers who are “paid like maids.”

The governor convened the Provincial School Board (PSB) on Wednesday to explore ways for better systems of public education and sports and youth development in Bohol.

These teachers are eligible but have to contend with their locally-paid low wages because they are hired to secondary schools which are not “GAA” schools.

The GAA refers to the General Appropriations Act, the annual national budget law that includes the allocation for teacher items in nationalized public high schools. The DepEd people call these schools the GAA schools.

It was emphasized, though, that the province and the municipal LGUs have been faithful in assisting numerous teacher applicants, only that the local government’s limited resources can merely pay them on casual basis.

School board members came to know that in the First District, only one public high school was not nationalized when Chatto was the congressman. .

This school is in Catigbian and the then First District solon was not timely informed of the opening of the said new high school there.

Rances reported some 37 non-GAA high schools in Bohol, and in these schools are many province-paid teachers. Other locally-paid teachers are those hired by the municipalities or LGUs.

There are even teachers whose much lower wages are paid by the barangays where the schools are located.

However, they are elementary teachers who are also assisted in their wages by the municipalities or LGUs.

The school board agreed that the status of these teachers is worth looking into considering that their “frustration” over low pay can lessen their motivation, thereby affecting the delivery of quality education.

Education officials said more public schools have been opened in the hinterlands in response to the clamor of the parents for reason of distance from the plains, terrain dangerous to the kids or fear of tragedy occurring to children crossing the rivers.

While there are initiatives to raise the provincial allocation for province-paid teachers, Chatto will also raise this and many other concerns whe4n he will meet with concerned national agency officials in Manila.

The governor said Manila should understand Bohol’s explanation “why we need more funds than the usual.” (Ven rebo Arigo)