A veteran teacher who spent 30 years at the same rank will retire three levels higher thanks to a Department of Education promotion program, officials said Monday.
Marcelina Gosgos of Balili Elementary School was among 8,811 DepEd personnel in the Cordillera region promoted under the Expanded Career Progression program.
“Without the reclassification, I will retire as Teacher lll Step 8, but with God’s grace, I am lucky to have been one of those promoted, and I will retire as Teacher VI,” Gosgos said during a mass oathtaking for 1,937 promoted personnel in Benguet province.
Dr. Estela Cariño, DepEd-Cordillera director, called the event historic, noting the region received an additional PHP1.4 billion for the promoted employees’ annual salaries.
“I do hope the teachers will be inspired and happy because if they are happy, and they have no financial worries with the increase in salaries, they would be more inspired to teach,” Cariño said.
Benguet Governor Melchor Diclas urged teachers to maintain the province’s top national ranking in functional literacy.
DepEd Undersecretary Wilfredo Cabral said the program, years in development, aims to provide teachers dignity and allow them to focus on teaching, with plans to deploy administrative staff to handle non-teaching tasks. (PNA)