While instruction time is officially six hours a day, most teachers work much longer hours doing multiple tasks at school.
They even have duties during vacation months and even beyond the classroom and school premises.
It is in this context that Senator Sonny Angara wants to lower the optional retirement age of public school teachers from 60 to 55 years old.
Angara has been pushing for wide-ranging reforms to improve the quality of life of public school teachers, which he said, would lead to a better quality of education in the country.
“Reforms to improve the quality of life of public school teachers would lead to a better quality of education in the country.”
“The country does face a perennial shortage of teachers, but respect and humane consideration for our hardworking educators should prompt policymakers and legislators to at least lower the optional retirement age from today’s 60-years-old to 55-years-old,” the seasoned legislator said.
The veteran lawmaker has promised to prioritize in his legislative agenda the needs of the education sector, especially of public school teachers so they can get better salary and improve their profession.
The senator said that his father, the late Sen. Edgardo J. Angara, knows the travails and sacrifices made by teachers having served as president of the University of the Philippines.
“Being a child of a teacher, I know the travails and sacrifices of teachers.”
In filing Senate Bill 1872, Angara said many public school teachers have expressed their desire to retire from their noble profession at an earlier age than what is currently set by the law. The law sets the mandatory retirement for public school teachers at 65-years-old.
Senate Bill 1872 seeks to lower the optional retirement age of public school teachers to 55-years-old amending Section 13-A of the Government Service Insurance System Act of 1997.
The bill has been pending at the committee level.
