WAGE INCREASE. Fr. Joel Tabora, president of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) (extreme left) on Wednesday (Sept. 25, 2019) said a bill pushing for a salary increase of private school teachers was presented during the 2019 CEAP National Convention held at Iloilo Convention Center here. He said adequate remuneration shall also apply to those in the private school in recognition of the matching role of the public and private educational institutions. (PNA photo by Gail Momblan)
ILOILO CITY -- The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) is pushing for a salary increase for private school teachers and is seeking the help of legislators.
The CEAP has presented the proposal during the general assembly as part of the 2019 CEAP National Convention held at the Iloilo Convention Center in this city’s Manduriao district from Sept. 25 to 27, 2019.
CEAP, a national association of Catholic Educational Institutions in the Philippines, has more than 1,484 member-schools and more than 120 superintendents of Catholic schools.
It is a voluntary organization, which operates through regional educational associations located in the 17 regions in the country.
In a press conference Wednesday, Fr. Joel Tabora, president of CEAP, underscored that that the CEAP will be proposing a legislation to hike the salary of private school teachers.
“The adequate remuneration of teachers shall also include teachers in the private sector, in recognition of the complementary roles of the public and private institutions in the educational system,” Tabora said, basing on the draft of the act.
The school heads gathered during the convention will be the helping hand of the CEAP to “pressure the legislators to file and support this bill.”
According to Tabora, there is a huge disparity between the entry level salary of private school teachers as compared to those employed in the public schools.
“In many of our Catholic schools, entry levels may be PHP8,000, really depends on the what is the economic status of the community,” he said, noting that entry-level in public school teachers receive around PHP20,000 or higher.
Lawyer Joseph Noel Estrada, CEAP legal counsel, said “there is no definite figure yet” for the targeted increase.
“These are numbers subject to availability of funds but this should be discussed urgently because the gap is getting wider as they propose higher salary for public schools,” he said.
Aside from the presentation of the bill, the convention also served as a venue to hear and understand the present situation of the youth and determine ways by which CEAP member-schools can formulate creative responses and innovative solutions to the needs of the youth and society. (PNA)
