PASIG CITY, June 11, 2019 – The Department of Education (DepEd) reaffirmed its commitment to work toward an equitable and sustainable salary increase for all teachers, amid the wide disparity between the basic salaries of teachers in public and private schools in the country.

A study by Dr. Rosario Manasan, using data from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Labor Force Survey in 2016, showed that on the average, public school teachers earn 71% more than private school teachers. The biggest salary gap between public and private school teachers can be seen in the then Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) at 158%. The same study noted that salaries in public school are “more stable and constant” across regions compared to private schools.

The significant difference between the pay of public and private school teachers is just one of the many fiscal impact that need to be considered and studied in determining the appropriate increase in compensation. Notwithstanding, the Department under Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones remains committed to uplifting the welfare of teachers and to working toward a pay hike that will help improve the economic condition not just of teachers but of government personnel in other sectors as well.

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