Teachers' Working Hours in DepED (Guidelines) - Teach Pinas (2024)

As per Section 13 of the Republic Act No. 4670 or the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, any teacher engaged in actual classroom instruction shall not be required to render more than six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching a day. However, public school teachers are not exempted from the eight-hour workday as per the legal hours of the labor-minimum requirement in R.A. No. 1880. Read the Guidelines on Teachers’ Working Hours in DepED.

DepEd Teachers’ Working Hours

In response to the request of the Department for the appropriate interpretation of Section 13 of Republic Act no. 4670, the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, the Civil Service Commission issued Resolution No. 080096:

• Public school teachers are not exempt from the eight-hour workday provided for the R.A. No. 1880;
• The limitation given in R.A. No. 4670 pertains to the time devoted to actual classroom teaching which shall not exceed six (6) hours a day; and
• The remaining two (2) hours of work to complete the required eight-hour workday may be spent within or outside the school premises subject to the guidelines of the Secretary of Education.

General Guidelines

In view thereof, the following general guidelines shall be observed in all public elementary and secondary schools:

• Public school teachers shall render at most six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching a day, except when undertaking academic activities that require presence outside the school premises, i.e., educational trips;
• School heads shall assign teaching loads to public school teachers to fully utilize the six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching, i.e., six teaching loads at one hour per teaching load, with due regard for possible teaching intervals;
  • All advisorship and/or special assignments for the entire school year combined shall be considered as one teacher load;

Undertime

• A teacher with less than six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching shall render additional hours of appropriate teaching-related activities and duties enumerated in 2 (d) within the school premises to complete six (6) hours;
• A teacher with six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching and/or equivalent teaching-related activities and duties, shall render the remaining two (2) hours of work within or outside the school premises to comply with the eight-hour workday by engaging in the following teaching-related activities and duties:
  • preparation of lesson plans, action/work plans, instructional materials, evaluation/assessment tools/rubrics;
  • preparation and checking of exercises; recording of academic performance results and classroom accomplishments;
  • conduct of research;
  • attendance to seminars, workshops, and similar programs;
  • counseling, mentoring, and coaching of students including home visits;
  • consultations and conferences with parents;
  • performance of coordination activities and duly recognized community social services;
  • participation in the maintenance and improvement of school facilities and equipment; and
  • other activities identified in the specific guidelines under paragraph 4 below

Overtime

In the exigencies of the service, a public school teacher may be required to render more than (6) hours of actual classroom teaching or more than eight (8) hours of work in a day; Provided that additional compensation is computed at the same hourly rate of the regular compensation, plus a premium of twenty-five percent of the hourly rate shall be paid for actual classroom teaching in excess of six (6) hours and for work performed in excess of eight (8) hours.

• Overtime pay can only be claimed for actual teaching and/or work performed within the school premises. In the event of non-availability of funds, service credits shall be granted and one hour of overtime work shall be 1.25 hours for purposes of determining the service credits.

In addition to the general guidelines herein provided, specific guidelines shall be formulated at the school level taking into account the unique conditions in schools such as the shifting of classes, if applicable, the availability of faculty rooms, classrooms, and teachers, and the nature of the teaching-related duties to be given priority.

• Decisions on the matter shall be agreed upon in meetings with representatives of the school administration, teachers, students, and parents, preferably through the School Governing Council or any established mechanism for school-community partnership.

Regional Directors and School Division Superintendents are directed to monitor and evaluate the overall performance of schools to ensure that the implementation of this scheme for working hours of teachers shall redound to the efficient and effective delivery of educational services.
Also read: Transfer of Teachers (Guidelines)

DepEd Memo No. 291, S. 2008 (Teachers’ Working Hours in DepEd)

Addendum to DM No. 291, S. 2008

DO 16, S. 2009 – Addendum to DepEd Memorandum No. 291, s. 2008 (Guidelines for the Implementation of CSC Resolution No. 080096 on Working Hours for Public School Teachers)

1. Under DepED Memorandum No. 291 dated June 13, 2008, the general guidelines for the implementation of the six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching of public elementary and secondary teachers and the specific guidelines to be formulated in the school level for the remaining two (2) hours to complete the eight (8) hours of work, have been promulgated.
2. In view of requests for clarifications as to the implementation of the provisions of said Memorandum and reports of non-compliance or different interpretations at the school level as to its correct application, the following additional guidelines/clarifications are hereby promulgated:
   1. The six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching shall cover the full teaching load of a teacher as indicated in the class program. As described in DepED Memorandum No. 291, s. 2008, teaching loads including advisorships and/or special assignments for the entire school year combined shall be considered as one teaching load;
   2. The time interval between actual classroom teaching shall be counted as part of the two (2) hours spent for teaching-related activities except for lunch breaks and recess periods;
   3. Teachers who have rendered the six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching duly reflected in their daily time cards shall be deemed to have completed the required daily working hours and must not be declared to have incurred undertime in the report of attendance and must not be subjected to salary deductions by the concerned payroll services unit; and
   4. The vacation service credits to be granted in lieu of additional compensation or overtime pay for actual classroom teaching in excess of six (6) hours of actual classroom teaching and for work performed in excess of eight (8) hours done within the school premises, shall be exclusive of the fifteen (15) days limitation under DepED Order No. 53, s. 2003.
3. It is reiterated that the mechanism for the additional two (2) hours of work done by teachers outside of the school premises shall be agreed upon by the principal with the teachers, parents, and students, preferably through the School Governing Council or any established mechanism for school-community partnership.
4. The School Head shall submit a written report to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Field Office, the concerned COA Auditor, and the Division Office. Schools Division Superintendents shall closely monitor and validate compliance to the agreed scheme of implementation.

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