Higher teachers salary for the Filipinos improves the education system. A protest in the Philippines on World Teachers Day explicitly made a demand on salary increment. Senator Sonny Angara wrote that the effectiveness of teachers rubs off on students eventually. Higher teachers salary increases efficiency, he affirms.
The need for higher teachers salary is often neglected in determining factors for quality education.
Source: https://www.payscale.com/research/PH/Job=High_School_Teacher/Salary
Higher teachers salary rewards
The teaching task is not just a job but a calling, and stakeholders in the system expect teachers to train the next generation to become the best.
Two research studies conducted in Tennessee and Dallas proved the influence of teachers on students’ outcomes.
“Hiring the best teachers,” a research study in Tennessee showed that students tutored by effective teachers for three years consecutively had better performance than their counterparts.
A similar study in Dallas assessed the outcome of students taught by an effective teacher for one year. The report highlighted that such students generally performed better.
A former president, Manuel L. Quezon, said that quality education is a function of the state of the teachers. Notwithstanding the material of any school buildings, it has no direct impact on students, Quezon said.
It makes no difference…whether the school-house is made of bamboo, cement, gold, or silver…What counts most is the quality of teachers.
Eliminating the need for a second source of income
Higher teachers salary increases focus and eliminate the need for a second source of income.
Pacific Standard website published an article titled “Does Raising Teacher Salaries Improve Performance,” which supports the second job hunt of teachers in low salaries.
The article showed that America and Indonesia with higher teachers’ salaries have low records of second job hunt by teachers.
Also, in Latin American countries, higher teachers salaries encouraged the retention of teachers and attracted more high IQ teachers.
In the United States, similar studies proved that students do better when teachers are paid better.
Just like Filipino teachers, their counterparts in Thailand with low wages have resulted in sourcing for secondary jobs to clear off debts.
A survey in the region showed that higher teachers salary would encourage more focused service delivery.
To improve the quality of education, the salary of teachers should be increased to encourage more focused service delivery and reduce financial pressure on them.
Also, higher teachers salary makes the profession more prestigious and retain excellent educators.
