IN THE CAMPAIGN for quality education, let us not forget private school teachers, too.
Private school teachers also struggle for just and decent salaries and benefits, human working conditions, and respect for their professional and political rights. There is a proposed bill (House Bill 5783) that addresses these struggles through the Magna Carta for Private School teachers, which also mirrors the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.
Private school teachers, unlike their public sector counterpart, have no labor standards law to call their own. Teachers in both the public and private sector endure the same heavy workload and inadequate salaries. It is high time that we provide private school teachers the same protection and lay down standards and fundamental principles in their employment, salaries and benefits, and working conditions similar to what has been provided to public school teachers through Republic Act 4670 or the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.
Existing laws do not provide sufficient protection with regards to job security for private school teachers. While the labor code clearly states that probation for employees in the private sector shall not be longer than six months, administrative issuances from the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education allowed a three year probationary period for private school teachers, causing thousands of teachers under contractual employment for longer periods of time.
Teachers in the private sector have identical responsibilities, duties and functions compared to their public sector counterpart. They also experience the same hardships, if not worse, like large class sizes, inadequate salaries and additional paper work. To prevent teachers from migrating from the private sector to public schools, they should be able receive the same, if not better, salaries and benefits, humane working conditions and respect for their professional and political rights and be protected under the law.
