RED tape is delaying the release of the teachers’ cash allowance, also referred to as chalk allowance, for the school year 2016 to 2017, the Department of Education said on Wednesday.
In a statement, the DepEd said that in 2016, the increase in new teaching items due to the implementation of Grade 11 may have extended the period for hiring teachers and the submission of the actual list of beneficiaries by the divisions.
However, the funds for the allowance have been released to the beneficiaries, starting with the regular teachers, the statement said.
“As provided for in the annual appropriations of the Department of Education, an allowance of P1,500 is provided per classroom teacher for every school year for the purchase of chalks, erasers, forms and other classroom supplies and materials,” the DepEd explained.
This budget is released directly to regional offices based on the policy of “GAA s a Release Document” by the Department of Budget and Management.
For the cash allowance to be released to individual teachers, the operating units (division offices and schools) are required to submit the actual and final list of teachers who would receive the provision.
Only then would the DepEd regional offices transfer the required allotment to divisions and schools, and only then would the notice of cash allocation be issued by the DBM, the department said.
Since the hiring process continues throughout the school year, the release of cash allowance to newly hired teachers will also continue to be made upon submission of the required reports to the Regional Offices and DBM.
The department reaffirmed its support for teachers. “We shall constantly take efforts to streamline our processes and allocate resources to better assist our teachers in their delivery of quality education,” the DepEd said.
The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition earlier lambasted the department over the delayed release of the allowance for school year 2016 to 2017.
The TDC said Metro Manila teachers have not received their chalk allowance amounting to P1,500, which should have been paid last June.
Olive de Guzman, a teacher at Morning Breeze Elementary School in Caloocan City, said the chalk allowance had been released except in Region 9, Region 12 and in Metro Manila.
The coalition called on DepEd-NCR Director Ponciano Menguito and Education Secretary Leonor Briones to act swiftly on the problem.
