Senator Gatchalian calls for faster hiring of teachers and increased non-teaching staff

DAVAO CITY, Philippines ––Senator Win Gatchalian has once again emphasized the urgent need to accelerate the hiring process for teachers and to boost the number of non-teaching staff within the Department of Education (DepEd). Gatchalian’s remarks came during a Senate Committee on Finance hearing, where he discussed the proposed budget for the Department for fiscal year 2025.

Gatchalian highlighted a critical issue: the prolonged hiring process for teachers, which can stretch up to six months and involves coordination with the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

As of May 24, 2024, DepEd reported a staggering 46,703 unfilled positions. Of these, 26,984 are teaching positions, representing 58% of the total vacancies. Despite DepEd’s plan to create 20,000 new teaching positions for the upcoming fiscal year, the department is still grappling with a shortage of 56,050 teachers—a gap that would require an estimated P15.4 billion to address fully.

“The number of teachers we need continues to grow with our student population,” Gatchalian said. “Filling the 26,000 vacant positions would significantly help alleviate the teacher shortage and improve our education system.”

In addition to addressing the teaching staff shortage, Gatchalian underscored the importance of hiring more administrative officers to alleviate the non-teaching workload on teachers.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) recently reported that public school teachers are overwhelmed with over 50 administrative and ancillary tasks. This issue has been partially addressed by DepEd Order No. 02 s. 2024, which mandates the removal of these administrative tasks from teachers’ responsibilities.

To support this initiative, Gatchalian noted that next year’s budget includes provisions to hire 10,000 administrative officers. “Given that we have about 43,000 schools, this addition means that around a fourth of our schools will benefit from dedicated administrative staff,” Gatchalian explained.

The National Expenditure Program (NEP) allocates P5.50 billion for the new teaching positions and P3.43 billion for non-teaching positions. However, DepEd estimates a need for 20,668 non-teaching personnel, with a projected cost of P7.9 billion.

In response to the concerns raised, Secretary of Education Sonny Angara assured the Senate Finance Committee that DepEd is actively working to expedite the hiring process at the school division level. The department has issued directives to ensure that hiring practices are streamlined and that positions are filled more promptly.

The ongoing discussions and budget allocations aim to address the critical staffing shortages and enhance the efficiency of the education system, ultimately benefiting students and educators across the country.