Wanted: 33,000 public school teachers

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) is expecting to hire 33,000 new teachers this year, Undersecretary Anne Sevilla said Monday.

During the launch of Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE), Sevilla said there are 10,000 new teaching posts and another 23,000 teaching vacancies.

“We have 10,000 new positions in 2019. Hindi ‘to kaagad naaprubahan dahil hinintay natin yung 2019 GAA [General Appropriations Act],” Sevilla explained.

“However, we were informed by DBM [Department of Budget and Management] na pwede na itong umpisahan. We’re just looking for the documentation. But kahit wala pa yung documentation naguumpisa na ang DepEd para hanapin itong mga guro na ito,” she added.

Sevilla said there are 23,000 accumulated vacant positions for teachers in addition to the 10,000 new posts.

”Kagaya ng school building and classroom, may accumulated din tayo na mga positions na nacreate pero bakante pa hanggang ngayon. We have 23,000, those accumulated vacant positions plus 10,000 this year, so we are expecting about 33,000 new teachers this year,” she said.

Sevilla also welcomed the large number of examinees who passed the recent Licensure Examinations for Teachers (LET).

The number of passers exceeded the DepEd vacancies.

“And we are happy that there was news na mas marami pa dito ang pumasa sa ating LET exam,” Sevilla said.

41,930 examinees passed the March 2019 LET, the Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC) said.

READ: 41,930 examinees pass March 2019 teacher’s licensure exam — PRC   (Editor: Gilbert S. Gaviola)