BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance declaring the last Monday of September of every year as Teachers Day in the city, conferring the Outstanding Teachers and appropriating funds for the said purpose.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Joel Alangsab stated it will be declared that every last Monday of September shall be designated as Teachers Day in the city for all teachers, both from public and private educational institutions.
The ordinance stipulated that the local government shall bestow awards or citations Outstanding Child Development Worker, Outstanding Pre-elementary or Kindergarten Teacher, Outstanding Elementary Teacher, Outstanding Secondary or Junior High School Teacher, Outstanding Secondary or Senior High School Teacher, Outstanding Teacher for Inclusive Education and Outstanding School Administrator as may be recommended by the concerned committees.
Under the pertinent provisions of the ordinance, the awardees shall receive a plaque of recognition; local legislative body resolution commending them and cash incentives in the amount of P10,000 each.
The ordinance mandated the creation of a Selection Committee which shall be composed of the City Mayor as chairman and the City Schools Division Superintendent as vice chairperson with the Philippine Elementary School Principals Association (PESPA) president, Public Secondary School Principals Association (PSSPA) president, chairperson of the City Council Committee on Education, Culture and Historical Research, representative from the retirees of the education sector, representative from the General Parents Teachers Association (GPTA), representative from the Association of Private School Administrators (APSA) of Baguio City, and representative from the City Social Welfare and Development Office as members.
The ordinance disclosed that the Selection Committee shall determine and recommend the conferment of the awards or citations to the nominees to the local legislative body for the enactment of the appropriate resolutions as required by the proposed measure.
The ordinance authorized the members of the Selection Committee to adopt the criteria for the conferment of the appropriate awards or citations to the teachers based on policies, guidelines and regulations set by the Department of Education in the selection of analogous awards.
Within in 15 days from its adoption, the ordinance asserted that the criteria and related rules and regulations shall be furnished all schools in the city for information and appropriate action.
Initially, the ordinance mandated the appropriation of P150,000 annually from the general fund of the local government to be used by the committee for the implementation of the provisions of the measure.
The ordinance noted that the teaching profession is considered as the most noble profession for its indispensable role in nation building and that teachers serve as epitome of dedicated public servants for being the model of sacrifices, selfless service to the society and a older of young minds.
By Dexter A. See