Over 15,000 teachers eyed to plug shortage of school principals
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) is planning to tap over 15,000 teachers as school principals in 2025 to address the shortage identified by the Edcom 2 – Second Congressional Commission on Education.
Edcom 2’s Year 2 report released last January showed 24,916 schools have no fully designated principal and were only headed by either a head teacher, a teacher in charge or an officer in charge, limiting access to resources.
“In response to the urgent need for school heads, the Department of Education committed to deploying over 15,000 qualified teachers as principals, issuing guidelines, and updating the existing process of principal hiring in public schools,” DepEd said in a statement on Tuesday.
“DepEd will issue interim guidelines to ensure that principals detailed to offices return to their assigned schools. These guidelines will also facilitate the reassignment of surplus principal positions to schools in need,” it added.
Article continues after this advertisementAmong its measures will be to deploy 7,916 passers of the National Qualifying Examination for School Heads (NQESH) to fill the vacancies.
Article continues after this advertisementFurther, the education department will reclassify 14,761 Head Teachers I to V and retitle 954 Head Teachers VI and Assistant School Principal II positions as School Principal I.
“Under this process, acting school heads will be prioritized as “on-stream candidates”, ensuring a faster promotion to principal roles. Eligible personnel undergoing retitling will also secure their rightful positions as principals in their designated schools,” DepEd explained.
To further address the shortage of principals, DepEd said it was refocusing the NQESH to assess competency as a basis for intervention and capacity building starting in 2025.
DepEd will also decentralize the administration of the NQESH to the regional level and will adopt a 1:1 principal-to-school ratio through the School Organizational Structure and Staffing Standards (SOSSS) by 2026.
This will be supported by the creation of an additional 5,870 School Principal I positions, DepEd explained.
“This pressing issue is an eye-opener. So many of our schools operate without brains—because that’s what our principals are, the brains of our schools. Rest assured, DepEd is taking swift action to address this problem,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara said in the statement. — with reports from Sheba Maya R. Barr, 黑料社 trainee
