THE Department of Education (DepEd) is appealing to Congress for guidance and legislative action to grant separate compensation to public school teachers serving as tutors under the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program.
In letters addressed to congressional education leaders, Education Secretary Sonny Angara underscored the agency’s commitment to supporting educators while emphasizing the need for a clear legal framework and dedicated funding.
Under the current ARAL Law (Republic Act No. 12028) and the Fiscal Year 2026 General Appropriations Act, DepEd teachers participating in the learning recovery program are only entitled to overload pay after completing their mandatory six hours of daily classroom teaching.
The current budget lacks a standalone line item for ARAL tutor pay outside of overload compensation and allocations for external tutors.
“DepEd’s position is clear: we want to recognize and support our teachers’ extra work under the ARAL Program. However, we must abide by the law and the budget allocated to us. We can only provide separate compensation if there is a clear legal basis and sufficient funding,” Secretary Angara stated.
Funding and Implementation Roadmap
DepEd has analyzed potential separate compensation schemes for the program. Initial estimates show that a uniform-rate compensation model would require approximately ₱4.307 billion, whereas an approach based on the Prime Hourly Teaching Rate would cost at least ₱7.266 billion.
Implementing either option requires Congress to amend RA 12028 to authorize payment regardless of a teacher’s regular workload, alongside securing appropriations starting in School Year 2027–2028.
For the upcoming SY 2026–2027, DepEd will proceed under the existing framework. Participating teachers will continue receiving overload pay or vacation service credits where applicable, while external tutors will be compensated through established guidelines.
Angara reiterated that DepEd remains dedicated to implementing the ARAL Program in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s mandate to boost foundational skills in reading and mathematics.
The department plans to work closely with Congress and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to ensure a sustainable and fair compensation mechanism moving forward.
