Go home, teach and inspire, ConGen urges LET passers

By Vir B. Lumicao

ConGen Morales administers oath to 64 new teachers who took the licensure test in HK

Filipino teachers working as domestic helpers in Hong Kong who have earned their licenses should return to the classrooms at home or seek teaching jobs abroad, according to Consul General Antonio Morales.

“I think you should look at the future with more confidence. Kung maaari tayong bumalik sa ating bansa, pag-isipan nating mabuti. Gumaganda rin naman ang ekonomiya natin, tumataas na rin ang sahod ng mga guro,” ConGen Morales said.

Alternatively, he said they could go to other countries, recalling that when he was posted in San Francisco more than 10 years ago, he was surprised to see many Filipinos teaching mathematics and science there. He said they could also explore possibilities in Canada.

Go home or teach in another country, says Morales

 Morales was guest speaker on Feb 24 at the 17^th Oath-taking Ceremony of the National Organization of Professional Teachers-Hong Kong for last September’s passers of passers of Licensure Examination for Teachers.

He later administered the oath to the 64 new professional teachers in a ceremony at the Consulate.

Morales thanked National Organization of Professional Teachers – Hong Kong, led by Gemma Lauraya, for pushing the holding of the special licensure exams here and preparing the teacher-helpers for the test.

He congratulated the new crop of licensed teachers, saying the country is proud of them.

He also said employers prefer to hire Filipinos because they speak English.

“I think it is not surprising that employers would prefer Filipinos because not only do they get household workers, they also get teachers at the same time. Nakaka-discount pa pala sila sa atin,” he said in jest.

He urged the teachers to explore better opportunities, to “teach and inspire” and to not forget those who taught them to aspire for a better life.

Labatt Dela Torre says teachers are catalysts for change

Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre, who actively supports the return to the classroom of former teachers now working as helpers in Hong Kong, said he singled out NOPT-HK as a community organization that he was happy to be associated with.

He joked that it is baffling and ironic that when the new teachers were still in the Philippines, they could not pass the licensure exam, but did so now that they were in their present job, away from their loved ones. “That is your source of inspiration,” he said.

 

Labatt Dela Torre compared the teacher-helpers to the first wave of Filipino migrants to Australia in the 1970s who set up and populated their own villages by marrying indigenous people, as well as to the Filipino seamen on Spanish galleons who jumped ship and settled in Texas cities such as Houston.

“That’s how important the impact of Filipino migrant workers is, just like you. I look at you as social catalysts responsible for initiating change in our society, truth-seekers and, of course, value formators, the most important one being value formation,” the labor official said.

He exhorted the teacher-helpers to start pursuing their dreams through the government’s “Sa Pinas Ikaw ang Ma’am, Sir”, or SPIMS, program to and become teachers in their own districts back home. He repeated this in a post on Facebook on Feb 25. 

A total of 18,409 elementary teachers out of 90,750 examinees, or 20.29%, passed the LET held last Sept 30 all over the Philippines, Hong Kong and Thailand, according to the PRC.

There were 60,803 secondary teachers who passed the exam, or 48.03% out of 126,582, the regulatory body announced on Dec 7 last year.