DepEd ensures ARAL funds go directly to teachers serving as tutors

MANILA, Philippines —The Department of Education (DepEd) is taking steps to ensure that funds from the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program will directly reach teachers and educators serving as tutors nationwide.

According to a DepEd statement issued on Wednesday, Education Secretary Sonny Angara stressed that the ARAL Program shows his department’s firm commitment to addressing learning gaps in reading, science, and mathematics, while protecting the welfare of its educators.

“Following the clear directive of President [Ferdinand] Bongbong Marcos [Jr.], our priority is to simultaneously speed up learning recovery and give support for our teachers. We are ensuring that, in widening the Aral Program, our teachers will not be overburdened. The limitations on their assigned workload will remain, and their extra services will be properly compensated,” Angara said in Filipino.

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“Changing our education system will only be successful if we also take care of our students and our teachers who are guiding them,” he added.

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Limiting teaching load

The time that public school teacher spend on ARAL tutorial sessions, which are considered remediation classes, is officially counted as part of their teaching load, according to DepEd.

It has put safeguards in place to ensure that teachers will not work beyond the allowable two-hour daily teaching overload limit.

Teachers serving as tutors during weekdays may also be entitled to teaching overload pay if they exceed the prescribed six-hour actual classroom teaching load.

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During weekends, holidays, and long vacation periods, teachers may earn Vacation Service Credits (VSCs), with one hour of service equivalent to 1.5 hours of VSC.

This month, DepEd is set to launch an online platform for applicants to the program to simplify their mobilization and training. Qualified external professionals are also welcome to supplement school personnel.

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Historic funding shift

This fiscal year marks a historic shift for DepEd’s ARAL Program, with nearly P2 billion earmarked to expand tutor support.

This amount reflects a major increase from the P150 million previously sourced through the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) Program and Government Internship Program (GIP).

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To further relieve the pressure on school-level resources, DepEd is actively processing these support funds.

Currently, schools have access to P1.09 billion in existing ARAL funds, with an additional P1.77 billion scheduled for release to cover teaching and learning resources, session support materials such as flashcards and visual aids, and essential monitoring activities.

The ARAL Program is backed by a total budget of P8.94 billion for fiscal year 2026. More than PHP2.25 billion of this has already been allocated for learning materials, with resources and clear implementation guidelines deployed to regional offices.

While acknowledging that current funding remains insufficient to cover all requirements, DepEd is maximizing the available budget to address critical expenses and support schools.

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It also recognizes the invaluable support of Congress, working closely with lawmakers and civil society organizations to ensure teacher welfare remains a cornerstone of the initiative alongside improved learning outcomes. /atm