THE UST administration has vowed to retain the ranks and salaries of faculty members to be reassigned to the Senior High School (SHS) next academic year as part of measures to deal with the impact of the K to 12 basic education reform.
“Tertiary faculty members who will be borrowed by the SHS shall maintain their rank and rate,” according to a memorandum released by the Office of the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs (OVRAA) last Dec. 11.
UST Faculty Union (USTFU) President George Lim also said salaries of tenured faculty would not be cut despite the reduction in loads. Lim said the maximum load of tenured faculty members would be reduced to 21 units from 24 units by 2017. The extra units will be distributed to other faculty members.
“We believe from our estimates that there are enough loads in the second, third and fourth years [of the K to 12 transition] for the tenured faculty kasi maraming aalis na contractuals. We believe there are sufficient loads for them; at least for the vast majority,” Lim said in an interview.
Borrowed professors
The OVRAA memo also said some faculty members would be on “borrowed status” at the SHS. “Tertiary faculty members who will be assigned teaching loads at the SHS, whether with full or partial load, shall maintain their affiliation with their own college or faculty during the transition years; they will be on borrowed status only,” it said.
Faculty members who wish to be “transferred” to SHS to obtain full loads may do so voluntarily, the memorandum added.
The Varsitarian earlier reported that 529 teachers submitted letters of intent to transfer to SHS last Dec. 18, the deadline set by the SHS.
Lim said the target number of applicants for SHS had been met. “By this time, mayroon nang 5,000 applicants for SHS, maybe more. So that means medyo safe ang faculty dito sa University,” Lim said.
The K to 12 program requires two additional years in secondary education, cutting enrollment in college programs for the years 2016 to 2022. In 2016 and 2017, there will only be a handful of college freshmen. Kathryn Jedi V. Baylon and Alhex Adrea M. Peralta
