Senator Sonny Angara is pushing for the allocation of P2.9 billion in the 2019 national spending package to fund the job promotion of faculty members in state universities and colleges (SUCs) nationwide.
“After making tuition in SUCs free, the government should now aim at improving the quality of public higher education in the country, and one of the ways to do this is to provide advancement opportunities to SUC teachers,” said Angara, one of the authors of the Free College Education Law.
“After making tuition in SUCs free, the government should now aim at improving the quality of public higher education in the country, and one of the ways to do this is to provide advancement opportunities to SUC teachers.”
The seasoned legislator is the vice chairman of Senate Committee on Finance tasked to sponsor the budget of the Commission on Higher Education and SUCs for 2019.
Such P2.9-billion funding aims to implement the National Budget Circular (NBC) 461, a system of evaluation and promotion for SUC faculty members, which was supposed to be given in full in 2017.
No budget has been allocated for NBC 461 Cycle 7 (2013-2016) because of the moratorium imposed by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Funding for SUC faculty promotion was again not included in the P3.757 trillion proposed budget the DBM had submitted to Congress for consideration.
“This is a long overdue benefit. Hindi na natin dapat pinaghihintay nang matagal ang ating mga guro lalo na pa’t karapat-dapat naman silang bigyan ng promosyon. Kung kaya namang pondohan ngayong darating na 2019, ‘wag na natin silang paghintayin at muling paasahin pa sa mga susunod na taon,” the veteran lawmaker pointed out.
According to the senator, some 35,000 faculty members stand to benefit from the funding of NBC 461.
“Definitely this would lead to an improvement in the quality of education in our public higher education.”
He added that job promotion and the corresponding pay increase is the best way to reward outstanding performance. “Definitely this would lead to an improvement in the quality of education in our public higher education,” added Angara, who has long been pushing for an increase in the salary of teachers.
His committee, together with the support of other senators, was also responsible for this year’s P10 million increase across-the-board in the capital outlay of 112 SUCs in the country to help them upgrade their infrastructure and equipment.
