Results of a Pulse Asia survey commissioned by Senator Win Gatchalian show that half of Filipinos think public school teachers are underpaid.
The senator said this give urgency to his topmost priority measure which is to raise the salary of the country’s public school teachers.
Based on the results of the survey conducted on June 24-27, 50 percent of the respondents think that public school teachers are underpaid, 37 percent think that they have enough salary, while only 3 percent say that they are overpaid.
Ten percent of respondents cannot say whether teachers are underpaid, overpaid, or have enough salary.
The survey had 1,200 respondents.
More than half of those belonging to Classes ABC (57 percent) and E (53 percent) think that public school teachers are underpaid. Almost half (48 percent) of those in Class D also think that public school teachers are not adequately paid.
In Senate Bill 149 or the proposed Teacher Salary Increase Act, Gatchalian seeks to raise the salary grades of Teacher I from Salary Grade 11 (P25,439) to Salary Grade 13 (P29,798), Teacher II from SG 12 (P27,608) to SG 14 (P32,321), and Teacher III from SG 13 (P29,798) to SG 15 (P35,097).
Raising the salaries of public school teachers was one of Gatchalian’s campaign promises.
“Panahon na upang itaas natin ang sweldo ng ating mga guro, lalo na’t sila ay napakahalagang sangkap sa pagkakatuto ng ating mga kabataan,” he said.
“Kung maitataas natin ang kanilang mga sahod, maitataas din natin ang kanilang morale at mahihikayat din natin ang mas maraming mga kabataan na kumuha ng kurso sa pagtuturo,” said Gatchalian.
