DepEd seeks Congress backing for separate pay for ARAL teacher-tutors

The Department of Education (DepEd) is seeking congressional support for a proposal to provide separate compensation to public school teachers who serve as tutors under the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program, citing the need for a clear legal basis and additional funding.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said DepEd supports recognizing the additional workload shouldered by teachers implementing the learning recovery initiative but stressed that compensation must comply with existing laws and budget allocations.

“Malinaw ang posisyon ng DepEd: gusto nating suportahan at kilalanin ang dagdag na trabaho ng ating teachers sa ARAL Program. Pero kailangan din nating sumunod sa batas at sa pondong ipinagkaloob sa atin. Magbibigay tayo ng compensation kung may malinaw na legal basis at sapat na budget para rito,” Angara said.

In letters sent to congressional education leaders, Angara said the current ARAL Law, or Republic Act No. 12028, only allows compensation for DepEd teachers serving as tutors through overload pay after they complete the required six hours of actual classroom teaching.

DepEd also pointed out that the Fiscal Year 2026 General Appropriations Act does not include a separate allocation for compensating DepEd teachers as ARAL tutors regardless of their teaching load. Existing funds cover overload pay and the engagement of external tutors.

The department said it has studied possible mechanisms for separate compensation, estimating that a uniform-rate scheme would require about P4.307 billion, while a compensation model based on the Prime Hourly Teaching Rate would need at least P7.266 billion.

However, DepEd said implementing either option would require amendments to the ARAL Law to allow compensation regardless of a teacher’s regular teaching load, as well as additional appropriations beginning School Year 2027–2028.

For School Year 2026–2027, DepEd said ARAL will proceed under the existing legal framework. Teachers may receive overload pay or vacation service credits, when applicable, while external tutors may be compensated based on approved program guidelines and available funding.

“Hindi natin iiwan ang mga batang kailangan ng dagdag na tulong sa pagkatuto, at hindi rin natin isasantabi ang kapakanan ng teachers na tumutulong sa kanila. Ang kailangan ay maayos na polisiya, malinaw na batayan, at sapat na pondo para maging sustainable at patas ang pagpapatupad,” Angara said.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) earlier warned that the program could add to teachers' workload if public school educators were tapped as tutors without clear compensation mechanisms.

The group said DepEd had previously indicated that hired tutors would handle much of the learning recovery work and questioned the inclusion of regular teachers in the tutoring pool.

“Tutors do not deserve measly incentives limited to vacation service credits, certificates of appreciation, and other items subject to available funds. These are unacceptable compensation for such a challenging service. Tutors deserve just and decent pay, including proper overload and overtime rates,” said ACT Chairperson Ruby Bernardo.