In Negros Occidental 3T teachers rally for higher wages

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — About 3,000 teachers from this city and Negros Occidental joined the national-coordinated mass action yesterday afternoon.

Gualberto Dajao, regional president of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, reiterated their call to the national government to increase the teacher's salaries.

He said that they are pushing for an increase in their basic salary, from P18,549 per month to P25,000 while P9,000 to P15,000 per month for the non-teaching staff.

He said that they wore black arm bands during the protest "to show that we are mourning about our situation."

The teacher-protestors assembled at the Rizal Elementary School and marched to the Fountain of Justice to press their concerns.

Meanwhile, 350,000 students and 10,000 teachers returned to school yesterday, said Provincial Schools Superintendent Juliet Jeruta, as she noted there is an increase in the enrollment this school year.

In Negros Occidental, Jeruta said that 31,000 pupils were enrolled in the kindergarten this year from 30,000 last year; 231,000 in the elementary level from 224,000 last year; and 91,000 in the high school level from 89,000 last year.

Further, she noted that "if there is an increase in the enrolment, there is also a shortage in classrooms."

She stressed that different non-government organizations, the local government units, and the national government have been doing their best to address the classroom shortage.

Earlier, the Department of Education stressed that the classroom shortage in the country had already been addressed.

DepEd Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Tonisito Umali said that DepEd has achieved the ideal classroom-student ratio nationwide, which is1:45.

For his part, Dajao slammed the national government for claiming that the shortages of classrooms have been addressed, claiming that it is a lie.

"It's a lie to say that there's no shortage of classroom," Dajao stressed.

Further, he assailed the proposal of DepEd to implement a three-day school week for congested schools. /JMD (FREEMAN)