ACT: About 75% of teachers have debt up to P200,000

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines on Monday said that about 75% of public school teachers are in debt of up to P200,000, reiterating calls for a nationwide salary increase.

“This is a systemic epidemic within the profession,” ACT Chairperson Ruby Bernardo told BusinessWorld in a Facebook message on Monday.  

“It is estimated that almost all or a very high percentage of public school teachers have some form of loan,” she added

Data from ACT and IBON Foundation revealed that 75% of 900,000 public school teachers nationwide are in debt through official salary-deduction schemes, private lending institutions, government loans, and informal high-interest lenders.

“Even official channels, like the GSIS, are plagued by slow processing, cumbersome requirements, and sometimes inhumane policies,” Ms. Bernardo said.

“Some school-based ‘accredited’ cooperatives also charge exorbitant interest rates,” she added.

Across different sources, loans for educators range from P100,000 to P200,000, while smaller, recurring loans for daily survival range from P5,000 to P20,000.

Teachers in remote and rural areas often fall into debt, as do urban poor communities where the cost of living is “intense”, said Ms. Bernardo.

In February, the Department of Education (DepEd) requested from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas a more flexible, longer-term loan arrangement for education workers to ease financial burdens and pressure.

However, ACT argued that the government should recognize the link between teachers’ financial constraints and growing liabilities.

The entry-level wage for public school teachers is under Salary Grade (SG) 11, approximately P30,000. Ms. Bernardo described it as inadequate and not livable for a family of five that spends about P1,200 per day in Metro Manila.

“The entry-level Salary Grade 11 is far below the family living wage …This fundamental gap forces teachers to borrow for essential needs.”

College tuition for children, buying a house, home repairs, hospitalization fees, and instructional materials such as laptops and printers are among the major expenses that push teachers to take out loans.

“The detailed reasons for teacher debt from tuition and hospital bills to home repairs and teaching tools prove that current wages are a catastrophic failure,” Ms. Bernardo said.

“Each bullet point is evidence that pay has not kept pace with the actual cost of living and professional demands,” she added.

ACT continues to urge the DepEd to grant a “substantial increase” in the entry-level salary of teachers, raising it to P50,000, for both the public and private sectors.

“It’s time for a P50,000 salary; they call us professionals, but it doesn’t reflect in our wages,” Ms. Bernardo said in Filipino.

“The demand for a P50,000 entry-level salary for all teachers is not just a call but an urgent necessity,” she added. — Almira Louise S. Martinez