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Bella Cariaso - The Philippine Star
April 1, 2026 | 12:00am
Students of the Marikina Elementary School in Marikina City attend a two-hour class orientation before the formal school opening on August 23, 2023.
STAR / Walter Bollozos
MANILA, Philippines — Private school teachers and education groups yesterday pressed the government for urgent support and policy flexibility as the ongoing Middle East crisis continues to strain the education sector.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers Private Schools led the call, citing the worsening conditions faced by educators nationwide.
Jonathan Geronimo, ACT Private Schools secretary general, said the government’s response to the ongoing crisis is insufficient and disconnected from the realities faced by teachers.
“In these trying times, everyone is affected, yet the President fails to act with urgency and continues to deny the severity of the crisis. Ironically, a crisis management committee has been created without concrete plans to genuinely alleviate the burden of the people,” Geronimo said.
He said instead of implementing systemic solutions, the government continues to promote personal austerity measures as the primary response to the crisis, calling it an insult to teachers who have long been forced to stretch their already meager salaries just to survive.
Data from ACT Private Schools show that the average salary of private school teachers in the National Capital Region is only P17,500 per month.
According to Geronimo, the situation is far worse in many provinces, noting that in Lucena City, Quezon, some teachers receive as low as P10,000 monthly, well below the estimated regional minimum wage of P13,200.
He also criticized the insufficiency of the current Teacher Salary Subsidy, which provides P2,000 per month.
“This amount is grossly inadequate and fails to meet even the most basic needs of teachers,” he noted.
Geronimo reiterated the call for a standardized minimum wage for private school teachers aligned with the living wage, along with direct government subsidies for institutions that cannot comply.
“The government must step in by establishing a monitoring and support mechanism that will evaluate and resolve salary and labor issues in private schools,” he said. — Rainier Allan Ronda
