Public school teachers are neither underappreciated nor underpaid.

The perception is far from reality and is “rapidly disappearing,” according to Education Secretary Leonor Briones.

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Allowances, paid leaves

Teachers have a monthly salary of P19,000 to P43,000, depending on their level.

The amount is apart from the allowances, as well as performance, midyear and yearend bonuses.

Unlike nurses, policemen and soldiers, teachers enjoy a two-month paid leave during the summer vacation.

Continuing migration

Briones’ defense of the government pay of teachers was a response to a commentary that little attention was given to teachers who had been unaccounted for since Islamic State-inspired terrorists from the Maute group laid siege to Marawi City on May 23.

According to her, the challenge facing the Department of Education now was not the pay of teachers but the continuing migration of private school teachers to the public school system.

“One wonders why is there migration if their pay is measly and inadequate,” she said.

On the reported 175 missing teachers in Marawi, Marjuni Maddi, assistant secretary for academics of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said authorities were actively trying to track them down.

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