ST.

MARY’S COLLEGE OF TAGUM,

INC.
Tagum City, Davao del Norte, Philippines
GRADUATE EDUCATION PROGRAM

SCI 209: METHODS AND STRATEGIES IN TEACHING SCIENCE

NAME: KHIM JOSEHP T. MALICSE

EMAIL: kj.malicse@smctagum.edu.ph

TITLE OF THE ARTICLE: THE NEW NORMAL IN EDUCATION: A CHALLENGE

TO PRIVATE BASIC EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES

AUTHOR: RUEL F. ANCHETA, Ed.D

Introduction

During these days while living with grace and stability as regular public school
teachers may be relatively safe from significant wage reductions following COVID-19 in
many parts of the world, the structure of the teacher labor market will likely play an
important role in the impact of the shock on the education system as a whole. Based on
recent trends, it seems this is likely to be true in many low and middle income countries
during the current crisis as well. It’s important to consider and protect the entire teacher
labor market and education workforce, not just the civil servant teachers in public schools.
The analysis of teacher labor markets shows that countries often freeze or slow hiring, as
opposed to reducing salaries, following shocks. This could result in an even more severe
teacher shortage and is likely to disproportionately impact non-civil service teachers who
are more likely to be women and to be located in remote locations in many places who may
not get their jobs back following school closures. Here’s what we know so far about private
school and contract teachers.

Body

The contract teachers in private schools are non-civil service teachers who are often
hired locally and have fixed-term contracts. This form of employment is a prevalent feature of
many developing country teacher labor markets that may not be captured in previous
analyses of the impact of past recessions on education systems. Accurate data on the reliance
of education systems on contract teachers is difficult to come by. In non-crisis times, contract
teachers are often paid less and have fewer benefits than their civil service colleagues.
A prolonged crisis is likely to make the jobs of contract teachers even more uncertain in the
short-run and could contribute to greater teacher shortages particularly for female teachers
in the long run in places where contract teachers are prevalent, including the most remote
areas and in humanitarian contexts. A disproportionate shortage of teachers in already
disadvantaged areas could hinder recovery efforts and could have lasting consequences for
the most marginalized groups and educational equity more broadly. The analysis of teacher
labor markets shows that countries often freeze or slow hiring, as opposed to reducing
salaries, following shocks. This could result in an even more severe teacher shortage and is
likely to disproportionately impact non-civil service teachers who are more likely to be
women and to be located in remote locations in many places who may not get their jobs back
following school closures. Here’s what we know so far about private school and contract
teachers.

Conclusion

Hence to conclude, as a public school regular teacher I give my full sympathy to

private school teachers. The challenge is being thrown and fully embraced and accepted in
these new normal set up, though the Learning Continuity Plan by the government have
helped a lot in giving such opportunities for landing a job for private school teachers amidst
Covid19 pandemic.