22/07/2026
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Private Schools condemns the Marcos Jr. administration's continued neglect of private school teachers and education workers, who remain among the most underpaid and most insecure workers in the education sector. While the government boasts of increasing education budgets and introducing reforms, it continues to ignore the worsening conditions faced by private school educators—many of whom receive salaries below the regional minimum wage, endure excessive workloads, and suffer from the absence of a national minimum salary standard for teachers.
This neglect is not accidental; it is institutionalized through government policies that favor school owners over education workers. The Manual of Regulations for Private Higher Education (MORPHE) has enabled the widespread contractualization and precarious employment of faculty by weakening security of tenure and normalizing flexible employment arrangements. Likewise, the implementation of the DepEd Strengthened Senior High School Curriculum threatens to displace thousands of private school teachers without any concrete job security, transition support, or livelihood guarantees. Instead of protecting educators, the government continues to advance policies that undermine their rights and livelihoods.
For decades, private school teachers have been excluded from meaningful wage reforms. Despite performing the same essential work as their counterparts in the public sector, they are denied a minimum salary standard that guarantees a dignified living. This persistent inaction has condemned thousands of educators to poverty wages, forcing many to leave the profession or seek employment abroad.
ACT Private Schools calls on the Marcos Jr. administration to immediately establish a national minimum salary standard for private school teachers and education workers, end contractualization in educational institutions, repeal anti-worker provisions under MORPHE, and suspend the implementation of education reforms that threaten teachers' jobs until genuine consultations and safeguards are in place. Quality education cannot be achieved by sacrificing the welfare and security of those who make it possible. The government must stop abandoning private school teachers and start upholding their rights, dignity, and livelihood. #
