Teachers teaching in ECQ areas to get extra hazard pay

Education Secretary Leonor Briones on Thursday promised that additional hazard pay will be given to teachers teaching in areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

This hazard pay is separate from the other benefits that educators receive, Briones said at a Palace briefing where she also reported on the pilot testing of limited face-to-face classes in the country in mid-November.

“Dapat i-inform natin ang teachers na meron extra hazard pay in addition to, kung meron pang, kung nasa ECQ na lugar doon ka nagtuturo, meron pang additional COVID-19 hazard pay for teachers,” she said.

(Teachers should be informed that there is extra hazard pay if they are in areas under enhanced community quarantine, and if they are teaching there, they are entitled to additional COVID-19 hazard pay.)

For teachers in ECQ areas, Briones said they may receive P550 allowance daily.

They may receive another assistance -- if they got infected with coronavirus -- on top of their “special hardship allowance” that is offered only to teachers, Briones pointed out.

On Wednesday, the Department of Education announced that the pilot implementation of limited face-to-face classes is set to start on November 15.

The limited in-person classes will initially cover 100 public schools and 20 private schools, and will involve Kindergarten to Grade 3 pupils.

From the 638 nominated schools, only 59 public schools have been selected for the pilot test after they passed the granular risk assessment of the Department of Health. —LBG, GMA News