DepEd to hire other types of professionals for senior high schools

MANILA —  The Department of Education (DepEd) said it would open its doors to hire professionals from other fields to address the challenge of filling more than 30,000 teaching vacancies for senior high school (SHS) in 2017.

Education Undersecretary Jesus Mateo said for the next school year, the agency has requested a total budget of P15.5 billion for the hiring of more than 53,800 teachers.  Sixty percent of the newly hired teachers will teach specialized subjects in senior high school (SHS), particularly in Grade 12.Next year, the more than 1.5 million students who enrolled for the pioneer batch of the SHS in over 11,000 private and public schools in June will move on to Grade 12. The schools offering the program are expected to welcome the same number of Grade 11 pupils in 2017.”There is a challenge filling up these teaching positions because we need teachers with specializations for the various tracks under the SHS program, not generic teachers,” Mateo told reporters in a recent press briefing.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones also emphasized the huge need for teachers specializing in English and Science.  She added that DepEd would have to come up with an attractive salary package to encourage them to apply. “They will start higher in terms of salary,” said Briones.

Of the more than 30,000 teachers who would be hired for the SHS, 60 percent would go to the academic track, which had the biggest bulk of enrollees this year, she pointed out.

DepEd record shows that out of the 1.517 million students enrolled in Grade 11, 60.27 percent signed up in the academic track; while 39.15 percent enlisted in the technical-vocational-livelihood track.

Data presented by DepEd showed that out of the 1.517 million students enrolled in the SHS program, 60.27 percent or over 914,000 students signed up in the academic track while enrollment in the technical-vocational-livelihood track was only at 39.15 percent.

Enrollment in the arts and design track was at .38 percent while the sports track, at .20 percent. Mateo said the distribution of teachers in the SHS would be based on enrollment distribution per program.

“If we will limit to licensed teachers, it [filling the vacancies] will be a problem but the K-12 law allows the DepEd to hire teachers who are not licensed provided that they pass the Licensure Examination for Teachers within five years or they will teach on part-time basis,” said Mateo.

Under the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, graduates of science, mathematics, engineering, music and other degree courses can be hired to teach specialized subjects in elementary and secondary education schools with shortages in qualified applicants who have passed the LET.

The law also states that graduates admitted by foundations duly recognized for their expertise in the education sector can also be hired provided that they get a license within five years after their date of hiring.

“If such graduates are willing to teach in basic education on part-time basis, the provisions of LET shall no longer be required,” according to the law.

Mateo pointed out that such provisions somehow resolved the issue on hiring teachers for specialized subjects. “We also have to have an attractive package…their salary grade level will be different for the different specializations,” he said.  SFM