Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has urged Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara to expedite the hiring of new teachers to meet the needs of public schools nationwide.
Alongside this, Gatchalian also requested the recruitment of more non-teaching staff to support student learning.
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate committee on basic education, noted that the teacher hiring process can take over six months, as it involves other agencies like the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
As of May 24, 2024, there are 46,703 unfilled positions in the Department of Education (DepEd), with 58% or 26,984 of these being teaching positions. For fiscal year 2025, DepEd plans to create 20,000 new teaching positions.
Although the National Expenditure Program (NEP) allocated ₱5.50 billion for these new positions, it is projected that DepEd will need a total of 56,050 teachers, requiring ₱15.4 billion in funding.
Gatchalian also emphasized the importance of hiring administrative officers to reduce the non-teaching workload of teachers.
According to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) Year One report, teachers handle nearly 50 administrative and ancillary tasks.
DepEd Order No. 02 s. 2024 has already removed these tasks from teachers’ duties.
The NEP has set aside ₱3.43 billion for hiring non-teaching staff. However, DepEd needs 20,668 non-teaching personnel, requiring ₱7.9 billion in funds.
Angara assured that the hiring process, particularly at the schools division level where recruitment happens, is being expedited.