Incoming education chief confident on teacher salary hike

Incoming Education Secretary Sonny Angara is confident that public school teachers' salaries will increase within the next few years, possibly during President Marcos' term.

He acknowledges that raising the salaries of the country's approximately one million public school teachers, along with other government employees, will be a difficult but achievable process.

Angara plans to collaborate with the Department of Finance and the Department of Budget and Management to assess the feasibility of proposed salary increases.

Teachers' groups, including the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), have welcomed Angara's appointment and urged him to advocate for higher educator salaries and review the K-12 program.

ACT Philippines Secretary-General Raymond Basilio expressed appreciation for Angara's recognition of the need to uplift teacher salaries and hopes his support translates into action.

Basilio urged Angara to engage in thorough consultations with accredited unions to secure a significant salary increase for teachers, noting that this approach was neglected by his predecessor.

ACT Philippines has long called for a salary increase that will close the gap between teachers' salaries and the cost of living and correct distortions in the government salary scheme.