Unreasonable inequality

Title

Language

English

Year

1947

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

UNREASONABLE INEQUALITY ZACARIAS DE VERA District Supervisor, Rizal City /i Unreasonable inequality exists not only in the salary of district supervisors and high school principals but also in the salaries of elementary and high school teachers, even if said teachers have the same qualifications. While no difference in responsibilities can be · given in favor of high school teachers, the entrance salary is very much higher than that of the elementary school teachers. This inequality is one of the gripes of the elementary school teachers, and it is their reason, too, for their leaving their positions. There is a conviction among elementary teachers that when it comes to the treatment of the teachers in the Bureau of Education, they are the least thought of or considered, in spite of the fact that the most difficult task of opening the eyes of school children to see the light of education is wholly entrusted into their unfailing hands. No valid reason indeed could be con· ceived of why two teachers of the same educational qualificatoins and teaching experience should receive different salaries simply because one is assigned in the elementary and the other in the hi gh school. Efficient elementary school teachers who are not only normal graduates but also holders of B.S.E. degree receive very much less than new and inexperienced teachers with the same educational qualifications assigned in the high school. This is one of the many education<!! ills in our country that should not escape the minds of those to whom are entrusted the welfare of the teachers. It is not surprisin g to know that Mr. Venancio Trinidad, Superintendent of the City Schools and at the same time Acting Superintendent of the Philippine Normal School, has che 41 followin_.g to say and has said it well in this regard: "I am strongly for the adoption of a single salary standard. By what rhy_me or reason should ;; 13.S.E. graduate assigned to a high school receive much higher pay than another B.S.E . graduate assigned to an elementary schpol? Do we concede that the work in the elementary grades is less important or much easier than the work in the high school? The adoption of a single-salary standard would ·correct the wrong impression that the elementary level of instruction is less important than the secondary level. It would place a premium on educational attainment, thereby serving as a powerful motive for the further professional growth of teachers in service. It would make the work in the elementary grades a career in itself rather than a stepping stone for other professions or for assignment to the high school.'' There is no need denying the fact that regular teachers now in the field further their studies only und er pressure of mrmoranda and mild directives from the general or the division office. The reason is very simple. In ironic monologue. the ·teachers may ask themselves, "I~ not the idea to have us improve our training and raise our educational quali· fications, a big mockery if after spending our otherwise valuable and precious time in obtaining the B.S.E. degree our salaries remain the same?" vVhc.n the understanding hearts of those in charge of the teachers sh<~ll haYe remedied this unreasonable inequality, teachers need no memoranda to encourage them to further their studies. 42 PHILIPPINE EDUCATOR They themselves, without any pressure, will use their vacation months to improve their professional training, thereby benefiting both themselves and the school children in the end. Teachers From Government-Own~ Teacher-training Institutions And Teachers From Private Owned Teacher-Training Institutions Another unfair, if not unreasonable. inequality that exists in our educational system is th e giving of the same entrance salary to graduates of government-owned teacher-training institutions and those of th e private-owned teacher-training i nsti tu tions. It may not be out of place to men· tion here the fact that enrolment at the Philippine Normal School and the st:~te university is a privilege. It is a privilege because a student failing to make the entrance test is not admitted in these • institutions. Moreover, even after havin~ passed the test and thus enrolled, if he takes his studies with less concern, he is dropped out of the institution before he knows it. The thorough and rigid instruction given in these government teacher-training i~stitutions is somf'thing that any alumnus u sua l~y tells wit!> justifiable pride after having gone through with his course. The reason is obviou!l. Admission in the junior normal and other courses of private institutions. on the other hand, can not be considered a privilege because anybody, intelligent, or otherwise, can take the course provided he has the money to pay the required fees. Accordingly, the following questions may be raise<;! in this connection: 1. Is it fair for Philippine Normal School graduates or the U.P., B.S.E. graduates to receive the same entrance salary as those junior normal graduates or B.S. E. graduates from private schools? 2. In spite of the fact that gradu·l.tes from priv:l.te institutions do not undergo as thorough and rigorous hours of instruction as those from government~ owned institutions, if; the entrance salary is the same for both, then what price thorough professional training? As it is, students prefer to go to private institutions for several reason but mainly because th ey know that it is much easier to finish a course th ere than in government-owned schools. Is it not a fact that there is less number of restrictions in the private institutions? And many a student rationalizes: "Why should I go to a public school where I have to work very hard when after all, I get the same sal'lry with less effort if I graduate from a private school?" Thus the same entrance salary encourages students to follow the line of least resistance. Consequently, teachers graduating under these circumstances can not be expected co teach with as much proficiency as those graduating under pressure of real and serious study. In this connection, may it not be asked whether there is no premium on rigid preparation? 3. Has the category of the Philippine Nor mal School and the College of Education, U.P. gone down to the level of the teach er-training institutions of private universities and colleges? If they have, it is high time that the government abolish them. If they have not, and they still retain th eir former edge over private · institutions, then steps should be taken to give the Philippine Normal School and U .P ., B.S.E. graduates an entrance salary highert than that of the junior normal graduates and holders of B.S.E. degrees from private schools. If there are some differences in entrance requirements and a whale of a difference in the preparation and training in the t\\"0 institutions, it is quite logical that graduates from governmentowned institutions be given higher entrance salary and should first be preferred in the filling of vacancies. (Continued on page 45)

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