PASIG CITY, October 3, 2018 – Amid calls for suspension of existing systems and policies geared towards the effective and efficient delivery of quality, accessible, relevant, and liberating basic education, work at the Department of Education (DepEd) – Central Office continues.

We remain steadfast in our commitment to safeguard the welfare of our employees – teachers and non-teaching personnel alike – and we are relentless in our pursuit to better serve our stakeholders, primarily the Filipino learners.

Despite the picket of a few at the Department’s gates, we stay focused on responding to issues and concerns being raised, many of which have already been addressed.

1. As part of its high regard to monitoring individual performance and ensuring organizational effectiveness, DepEd implements the Results-Based Performance Management System (RPMS) in accordance with Civil Service Commission (CSC) Memorandum Circular No. 6, s. 2012. The RPMS is also aligned with the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST), making compliance easier.

DepEd cannot arbitrarily order the suspension of RPMS which is a legal requirement; instead, it continuously calls on all teachers and other stakeholders to help identify points for improvement and discuss ways forward.

2. As public servants in the education sector, we all recognize the crucial role of well-prepared and well-planned lessons in the delivery of quality teaching and learning in schools. DepEd maintains that lesson planning is a core skill developed by a professional teacher during pre-service training/undergraduate preparation.

Both the Daily Lesson Log (DLL), used by teachers with at least one year teaching experience, including teachers with prior experience in private schools or higher education institutions, and Detailed Lesson Plans (DLPs), prepared only by newly-hired teachers without professional teaching experience, are important in upholding quality education standards.

3. Recognizing that teachers play a crucial role in upgrading the quality of teaching and learning process, DepEd strives to help improve their performance through different parameters. These include classroom observation, as mandated in the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers – Results-Based Performance Management System (PPST-RPMS).

Classroom observations have become more objective and standardized given the specific and pre-determined indicators agreed upon by the teacher and the observers. Classroom observations are used for mentoring, coaching, and performance review and evaluation which support the teachers’ continuing professional development.

4. As prescribed by Republic Act No. 7797, DepEd sets a school calendar with a minimum of 200 and a maximum of 220 class days every year. Given inevitable class suspensions, the Department has to guarantee the continuous delivery of quality basic education.

To balance between achieving its directive and ensuring the welfare of both learners and personnel, DepEd authorizes flexibility in the mode of making up for cancelled classes including modularized instruction and other mechanisms that are approved by the school heads and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).

5. Teachers are not exempt from the eight-hour workday in the government, as resolved in Civil Service Commission (CSC) Resolution No. 080096 issued in 2008. Teachers are required to render a maximum of six hours of actual classroom teaching per day within the school premises.

Pursuant to the CSC resolution, DepEd reiterates the provisions stated in DM No. 291, s. 2008 and DO No. 16, s. 2009, that teachers who choose to render the remaining two hours of work outside the school premises must not be subjected to salary deductions, and that they should not be required to submit means of verification (MOVs) as proof of services rendered outside the school premises. It will also direct key offices to monitor the strict and uniform execution of this policy.

6. As part of its ongoing review of policies on teachers’ workload, DepEd is conducting a study of the type and magnitude of ancillary tasks they perform. An initial solution is the creation of non-teaching positions in schools to be requested from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

DepEd’s series of reviews has likewise resulted in the reduction and standardization of school forms, updating and reduction of data needed, and maximized utilization of available technology and information system. It will also collaborate with teachers and process owners to consider data sharing.

7. Teachers are entitled to vacation service credits, which serve as their sick and vacation leaves, as provided for in Section 9 of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Memorandum Circular (MC) 41, s.1998. Also unique to public school teachers is the Proportional Vacation Pay (PVP), which they earn based on the computation to be provided by DepEd every school year.

Other leave benefits of teachers, such as Study Leave and Indefinite Sick Leave are covered by Sections 24 and 25 of Republic Act 4670, or the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.

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