Wanted: a “huge army” of Science and Math teachers.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said the Department of Education (DepEd) needed to fill up more than 30,000 teaching items, especially for the fields of Science and Math, as part of its implementation of the K-12 education reform program.
At a recent House appropriations committee hearing on the department’s proposed P567.56 billion budget for next year, Briones said the agency was “having a challenge” in hiring teachers in the two fields.
“We need a huge army of teachers, we’ll recruit more,” she said, noting that the demand for more K-12 educators was still high despite the employment of 195,302 public school teachers between 2010 and 2016.
Briones also reported to the committee that the department created 36,461 teaching vacancies for the Senior High School (SHS) program alone, which was rolled out in June this year.
So far, the agency has already hired 3,950 displaced faculty from higher education institutions, of which 928 have availed of the department’s so-called “green lane” for speedy employment, she noted.
The figures showed that the DepEd was able to avert massive displacement of teachers following the full implementation of the K-12 basic education program, said the DepEd chief.
“We lack teachers and we are not displacing teachers,” she said, allaying fears of joblessness among college professors.
Out of the proposed budget, the DepEd was allotting P15.5 billion for the hiring of 53,831 teachers for next year and about P4.5 billion for the purchase of more than 8,300 Science and Math equipment packages.
Briones also added that the DepEd was offering above entry-level salary grades to graduates of Science and Technology courses under the Junior Level Science Scholarships of the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute.
As of June 21, 502 people have qualified for the scholarship, with 472 scholars availing themselves of the grant.
Under Republic Act No. 10612 or the Fast-Tracked S&T Scholarship Act of 2013, the DepEd is mandated to ensure qualified graduates of the said scholarship with job placement as Special Science Teacher with salary grade level 13.
Scholar-graduates hired by the DepEd will also receive a teacher training program that will enable them to qualify to take the Licensure Examination of Teachers (LET).
Briones said the agency was encouraging graduates of Science, Math and Engineering courses without LET certification and of technical-vocational courses with pertinent certifications from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and practitioners with expertise in specialized learning areas offered in the K-12 program to apply as part-time SHS teachers.