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FAQs on Working Hours of Public School Teachers

Attached is a Division Memorandum No. 342, s. 2018 from Cherrylou D. Repia, Schools Division Superintendent, DepEd Cavite dated November 15, 2018, entitled “ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REGIONAL MEMORANDUM 550, S. 2018: MEASURES TO ENHANCE TEACHERS’ WELFARE IN CALABARZON PUBLIC SCHOOLS”, which is self-explanatory, for the information and guidance of all concerned.

This is in reference to the DepEd Calabarzon Regional Memorandum No. 550, s. 2018, DepEd Order No. 291 s. 2008, DepEd Order No. 16 s. 2009 and CSC Resolution No. 080096 regarding the Policy on 6-Hour Teaching.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Working Hours of Public School Teachers

Republic Act No. 4670, otherwise known as the “Magna Carta for Public School Teachers,” provides that teaching hours for teachers shall not be more than six hours. The Department of Education (DepEd) issued Memorandum 291 s. 2008 allowing teachers to allot six hours for actual classroom teaching per day while the remaining two hours to be spent in teaching-related activities.

What is the mandated WORKING HOURS of a public school teacher?

Public School Teachers are not exempt from the eight-hour workday provided for in R.A. No. 1880, i.e., 8 hours a day, 5 days a week OR a total of 40 hours a week work schedule (Cited from Section 1.a. of Civil Service Commission 080096 which was based from CSC Resolution No. 94-5824 and CSC Resolution No. 91-1019).

What is the composition of the 8-hour workday?

Public school teachers shall render at most six (6) hours of ACTUAL TEACHING a day, except when undertaking academic activities that require presence outside the school premises, i.e., educational trips (Cf Section 2(a) of DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s. 2008).

A public school teacher with six (6) hours of ACTUAL CLASSROOM TEACHING and/or EQUIVALENT TEACHING RELATED ACTIVITIES and DUTIES shall render the remaining two (2) hours of work within or outside the school premises to comply with the eight-hour workday. (Cf Section 2(d) of DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s. 2008).

What is the basis of the six (6) hours actual teaching load?

Teaching Hours. Any teacher engaged in actual classroom instruction shall not be required to render more than six hours of actual classroom teaching a day, which shall be so scheduled as to give him time for the preparation and correction of exercises and other work incidental to his normal teaching duties: Provided, however, That where the exigencies of the service so require, any teacher may be required to render more than six hours but not exceeding eight hours of actual classroom teaching a day upon payment of additional compensation at the same rate as his regular remuneration plus at least twenty-five percent of his basic pay. (Sec. 13 of R.A. No. 4670, “The Magna Carta for Public School Teachers”).

The limitation given in R.A. No. 4670 pertains to the time devoted to actual classroom teaching which shall not exceed six (6) hours a day. (Cf DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s. 2008, based from Civil Service Commission issued Resolution No. 080096).

Teachers who have rendered the six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching duly reflected in their daily time cards shall be deemed to have completed the required daily working hours and must NOT be declared to have incurred undertime in the report of attendance and must not be subjected to salary deductions by the concerned payroll services unit (Cf 2(c) of DepEd Memorandum No. 16, s. 2009).

What does the six (6) hours ACTUAL CLASSROOM TEACHING load consists?

a. Six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching planned and assigned by the school heads, i.e., six teaching loads at one hour per teaching load, with due regard for possible teaching intervals (Cf 2(b) of DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s. 2008). The six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching shall cover the full teaching load of a teacher as indicated in the class program (Cf 2(a) of DepEd Memorandum No. 16, s. 2009). Public school teachers shall render six (6) hours of actual teaching work inside the school campus (Cf A.3(a) of Regional Memorandum No. 550, s. 2018).

Six actual teaching loads a day is equivalent to 360 minutes of actual teaching a day. Note that 1 hour = 1 load; but NOT necessarily 1 subject = 1 load.

b. Teachers serving as learning facilitators and moderators of SPARK (Reading) Program and Proactive Optimization of Wide ranging Experiental and Rationalized Instruction towards Upgraded Potentials (POWER IT UP) which cover all learning areas, Campus Journalism and Sports may be considered as teaching load based on time spent, provided that the school implements this in one school year, meaning 250 minutes are spent for the program in one week. This may be done if the school has teachers who have less than the required teaching load. For a school where all teachers are in full teaching load, their services as facilitators and moderators of SPARK and POWER IT UP must be given service credits based on actual time spent for services rendered.

c. All advisorship and/or special assignments for the entire school year combined shall be considered as one (1) teaching load (Cf 2(b) of DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s. 2008; reiterated in B.1-2 of Regional Memorandum No. 550, s. 2018). Special assignments that are not for the entire school year such as Chairman on Food Committee/Registration Committee during a school activity cannot be considered as Advisorship/Special assignment within the purview of this provision.

Special assignments are hereby enumerated together with the corresponding teaching load that may be given to the teachers. (Cf 2(b) of DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s. 2008).

What can be considered under Advisorship/Special assignments?

  1. Teacher/grade level coordinator
  2. Testing coordinator
  3. Class adviser
  4. Teacher property custodian
  5. Feeding teacher
  6. Canteen teacher
  7. Teacher librarian
  8. Guidance teacher
  9. Teacher nurse
  10. Teacher registrar/school clerk
  11. Sports coaching

d. Due to the nature of the task and assignment designated on selected teachers which carry the functions throughout the entire school year, viz., School Based Management (SBM) coordinator, Enhanced Basic Education Information System/Learner Information System (EBEIS/LIS) coordinator, Disaster and Risk, Reduction and Management (DRRM) coordinator and Adopt a School Program/Brigada Eskwela (ASP/BE) coordinator shall be given service credit based on actual time spent for services rendered.

What will be the reference for the time allotment of the actual classroom teaching loads?

Time allotment of subjects is provided in the Part E of DepEd Order No. 31, s. 2012. These prescribed time allotments shall be used in determining the number of teaching loads of teachers.

What if a teacher has less than six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching?

A teacher with less than six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching shall render additional hours of appropriate teaching-related activities and duties enumerated in 2(d) of DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s. 2008 within the school premises to complete the six (6) hours (Cf 2(c) of DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s. 2008).

What if a teacher has more than six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching?

In the exigencies of the service, a public school teacher may be required to render more than six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching or more than eight (8) hours of work in a day; Provided that additional compensation computed at the same hourly rate of the regular compensation, plus a premium of twenty-five percent (25) of the hourly rate shall be paid for actual classroom teaching in excess of six (6) hours and for work performed in excess of eight (8) hours (Cf Sec. 3 of DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s.2008, consistent with Sec. 14 of R.A. 4670).

Overtime pay can only be claimed for actual teaching and/or work performed within the school premises. In the event of non-availability of funds, service credits shall be granted and one hour overtime work shall be 1.25 hours for purposes of determining the service credits (Cf Sec. 3 of DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s.2008).

How about the two (2) hours remaining work load?

The remaining two (2) hours of work to complete the required eight-hour workday may be spent within or outside the school premises subject to the guidelines of the Secretary of Education (Cf DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s. 2008, in response to the request of the Department for the appropriate interpretation of Section 13 of Republic Act No. 4670, the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, the Civil Service Commission issued Resolution No. 080096).

The remaining two (2) hours of work within or outside the school premises can be complied by engaging in the following teaching-related activities and duties (Based on 2(d) of DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s.2008):

a. preparation of lesson plans, action/work plans, instructional materials, evaluation/assessment tools/rubrics;

b. preparation and checking of exercises; recording of academic performance results and classroom accomplishments;

c. conduct of research;

d. attendance to seminars, workshops and similar programs;

e. counseling, mentoring, coaching of students including home visits;

f. consultations and conferences with parents;

g. performance of coordination activities and duly recognized community social services;

h. participation in the maintenance and improvement of school facilities and equipment: and

i. other activities identified in the specific guidelines under sec. 4 of DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s.2008

In addition to the general guidelines herein provided, specific guidelines shall be formulated at the school level taking into account the unique conditions in schools such as the shifting of classes, if applicable, the availability of faculty rooms, classrooms and teachers, and the nature of the teaching-related duties to be given priority.

The following list of activities was also reiterated and specified in the Regional Memorandum (See enclosure of Regional Memorandum No. 550, s. 2018) as activities that may constitute the two (2) hours work load:

a. preparation of daily lesson logs;

b. preparation of instructional materials;

c. Learning Action Cell (LAC) sessions with co-teachers;

d. checking of student outputs;

e. computation of grades;

f. remedial sessions for pupils/students who need improvement;

g. structuring of classroom;

h. guidance and counseling session for students with special needs;

i. conference with parents of students with special needs;

j. coaching/training for ECA of pupils/students; &

k. doing community linkages

To comply with the above policy, services rendered outside the school campus shall be considered as done on official time provided that a mechanism for the additional two (2) hours work done by teachers outside of the school premises shall be agreed upon through a written agreement between the principal and the teachers (Sec. 4 of Regional Memorandum No. 550, s. 2018).

How do we schedule/spend the two (2) hours work load?

The two (2) hours work load may be schedule in three ways: a) before the six (6) hours actual classroom teaching load; b) after the six (6) hours actual classroom teaching load; and/or c) during the interval time within the actual classroom teaching load. The time interval between actual classroom teaching shall be counted as part of the two (2) hours spent for teaching-related activities (Cf 2(c) of DepEd Memorandum No. 16, s. 2009).

Teachers shall not utilize the (2) hours for private school part time teaching, consistent with civil service rules (Sec. 4 of Regional Memorandum No. 550, s. 2018).

Are lunch breaks and recess periods counted as part of the six (6) hours actual classroom teaching or as part of the two (2) hours teaching-related activities?

The time interval between actual classroom teaching shall be counted as part of the two (2) hours spent for teaching-related activities EXCEPT LUNCH BREAKS and RECESS PERIODS. (Cf 2(c) of DepEd Memorandum No. 16, s. 2009). However, teachers are not required to stay inside the school for the duration of their lunch or recess especially if it is before or after their 6-hours actual teaching load.

Do the teachers still need to submit MOVs (means of verification) or evidences as proof of compliance on the two (2) hour work load?

Public school heads need NOT require teachers to submit means of verification (MOVs) or evidence such as pictures, reports and documents to prove that they have served their two-hour work outside the school campus. It is enough that the teachers are able to submit their mandatory reports on time and render very satisfactory teaching services. (Regional Memorandum #550, s. 2018 re: Measures to Enhance Teachers’ Welfare in CALABARZON)

How about the work load of Master Teachers?

The Master Teachers should observe the statement of duties and responsibilities indicated in CSC Form No. 1 (Position Description Form). Taking this in consideration, MTs need to spend their two hours in schools in order to help in instructional supervision, coaching of teachers and other curricular tasks. However, they may be allowed occasionally to do some work outside the school premises.

Master Teachers may avail of the 6-hours actual teaching load, given that there will be inclusive agreement on the provision of the schedule for the supervisory, assessment, observation and research functions of the master teachers.

How about the work load of Head Teachers?

Head Teachers must render eight (8) hours of work load, primarily, due to the administrative nature of their position. Substitute teaching or intermittent teaching of a Head Teacher does not alter the true or real nature of their position.

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6 thoughts on “FAQs on Working Hours of Public School Teachers”

  1. May I ask how many teaching loads can be assigned to a bookkeeper? Bookkeeping is also assigned to some teachers but it was never mentioned as special assignment in the memorandum.

    Reply
    • What if: a grade 3 teacher assigned by a master teacher to teach only one subject like MTB which is 50 minutes alloted time, and it takes 400 minutes but only 360 minutes allowed. Is it not fair?

      Reply
  2. What if the situation is like this: The teacher just underwent her eye surgery, after a week of her operation she was given additional load because she is under load, this senior and retiree teacher has no cboice but to accept it.. May I ask if there is any guidelines on this matter. Thank you so much.

    Reply

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