Department of Education officer-incharge Dr. Fe Hidalgo also dared teachers, particularly those who have undergone trainings and won leadership awards, to stay in the country and instead, share their knowledge to upgrade the quality of education.
Hidalgo posed the challenged after meeting the five teacher recipients of Microsoft’s Innovative Teachers Leadership Awards (ITLA) at the DepEd office over the weekend. The teachers, representing different high schools across the country, were expected to boost students’ knowledge using information technology.
"Every gain you make, there are corresponding obligations and responsibilities, and even accountability not only to Microsoft but to DepEd," Hidalgo told the teachers.
Included in these obligations and responsibilities, she added are their (teachers) commitments to serve Filipino students and to guide other teachers to become skilled like them.
In the wake of the reported 200,000 annual teachers requirement of the United States, which is expected to accelerate the country’s "brain drain" situation, Hidalgo said there is a need to make teaching services for newly graduate and licensed teachers mandatory before teachers are permitted to work abroad.
"It would probably be similar to the existing requirement for nurses and other medical professionals who are compelled to exercise their profession in the country for at least two years before going abroad," she said.
But in the absence of such a mandate, Hidalgo admitted the DepEd cannot preclude teachers from leaving the country in search for "greener pasture".
DepEd Spokesperson Camilo Montessa told reporters that the migration of Filipino teachers to other countries is not just prompted by handsome pay and other opportunities, but also corruption in the education sector.
"Teacher’s salary is not competitive as that of the other countries. Here they are only paid less R10, 000. But when they go and teach in Singapore or in the United States, they are paid five or six times higher. How can you compete with that kind of numbers," Montessa said.
"However, I don’t agree na pera-pera lang iyan," Montesa noted, adding that if the education sector or the government is more transparent, the teachers would chose to stay in the country and be with their family.
Montessa, also the department’s Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs, said there is no cause for alarm yet over the exodus of teachers abroad. "We have a large pool of teachers. Our supply is bigger than the country’s demands."
But he believed that migration of quality teachers will affect the country’s supply of skilled teachers. "This is the challenge for us - to harness our competitive edge against the lure of money." The DepEd, he said, has been finding ways at ensuring that quality teachers are here to stay or at least serve in the country before exercising their profession elsewhere.
"We will try to look at the non-monetary reasons for them to stay. Aside from clear governance, we need to have a clear career path-ing based on merit and rationalization to improve oneself on top of our efforts to advocate higher increases for salary," Montessa said.
He added that the department will continue to intensify training of teachers, especially in the three core subjects - English, science and math.
Meanwhile, the ITLA recipients were reserved when asked if they have plans of going abroad.
"Wala pa sa isip namin yan (it’s not yet in our minds)," the teachers said.
The five ITLA recipients were among the 2,000 teachers in South East Asia who participated in the recently conclude Microsoft’s Innovative Teachers Regional Conference held recently in Korea. They are Cecilia Correa and Francisco Garcia of Manila Science High School; Christie Anne Bihag of Ipil National High School, Ormoc, Leyte; Evelyn Manahan of Iligan City East High School; and Cecilia Estoque of Agusan National High School in Butuan City.
Estoque was chosen as the country winner. She will represent the Philippines in the global title that will be held in Redmond, Washington, USA in 2006.
