CALAMBA CITY, LAGUNA (PIA) – The Department of Education (DepEd) in Calabarzon is expediting the hiring of teaching and non-teaching personnel to better improve the quality of education and reduce the administrative workload on teachers.
Citing Education Secretary Sonny Angara’s directive to fill vacant positions, DepEd IV-A Assistant Regional Director Loida Nidea said that they are targeting to complete this process by the end of the year.
“We know that if our Schools Division Office fails to fill the plantilla items, it will negatively impact student learning. This means there will be fewer teachers available for our learners, which could affect the quality of education. But we are doing our best, and our division superintendents can attest to that,” Nidea explained during the Philippine Information Agency Calabarzon’s Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas.
As of September 2024, Nidea reported that DepEd IV-A has an active workforce of 119,675, or 97.16 percent of its total 123,171 available plantilla items regionwide. Meanwhile, 112,541 out of 115,012 teaching personnel items in the region are filled.
Some division offices in the Calabarzon region have already achieved 100 percent fulfillment of their available personnel items, according to DepEd data.
Nidea mentioned that a faster hiring process for additional personnel enables teachers to focus more on teaching rather than administrative tasks.
“By increasing the number of administrative officer positions, teachers are relieved of administrative burdens and can concentrate more on teaching, which is evident in the mass programs in our schools,” the assistant regional director said.
According to DepEd, several factors hinder the placement of teachers, including the geographical location of schools, diversity of offerings, and lack of qualifications. To address this, DepEd implements community-based ranking, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and last-mile schools.
“We advise superintendents to conduct community-based ranking. There are local teachers who can be assisted in qualifying through training and other criteria to increase the number of qualifiers in the community, especially for last-mile schools and Indigenous Peoples (IP) learners.”
DepEd IV-A is also encouraging teacher aspirants to pursue National Certification programs to fill positions for Technical, Vocational, and Livelihood courses. It urges state universities and colleges to offer more relevant courses in Science, MAPEH, Values Education, and Special Needs Education to better meet the demand for teachers. (CH/PIA-Laguna)
The Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas is a weekly media forum program of the Philippine Information Agency, in partnership with the Presidential Communications Office, highlighting the programs, projects, and policies of the national government under the Bagong Pilipinas governance agenda of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration.