MANILA — The Department of Education (DepEd) said Monday it was working to provide financial aid for teachers in small private schools.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones said she has consulted acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua on the matter of providing financial assistance for private school teachers.

Chua, according to Briones, recommended that private school teachers turn to the government's program which provides cash aid to workers of small businesses.

"It was suggested that we can seek assistance through helping employees of small businesses," Briones said in a virtual press briefing.

"Ang sabi niya (he said), we do it the same way for other small businesses, because we are referring to small schools," she said, referring to Chua.

Briones said the DepEd would ask private schools organizations to provide a list of teachers who may be qualified for the assistance.

"Ang focus dito (the focus here) are teachers of small schools who cannot be paid," she said.

"[Iyong] hanggang 10 months lang sila, so kapag walang klase, walang suweldo. Iyon ang gusto naming i-submit at bigyan ng assistance," Briones explained.

(Those who only get paid for 10 months, so when there are no classes, they don't receive salary. Those are the ones we want to submit and give assistance to.)

A group of administrators earlier said around half a million private school employees — both teaching and non-teaching personnel — have been affected by the coronavirus crisis, either receiving reduced income or no income at all under the "no work, no pay" scheme.

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