DepEd hiring 75,000 new teachers

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) will hire an additional 75,000 teachers to further reduce the class size and decongest classrooms in public elementary and high schools nationwide.

DepEd said additional funding is included in the department’s 2018 budget to be able to hire additional teachers who will be deployed in schools with high student population.

Education Undersecretary Jesus Mateo over the weekend said the current average teacher-student ratio is 1:31 for elementary and senior high school and 1:36 for junior high school.

He noted that some schools, especially in urban areas like Metro Manila, have higher teacher-student ratio because of the huge number of students.

Last month, the Department of Budget and Management authorized DepEd to create the new teacher posts for the incoming school year.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the government would authorize 40,642 positions for the kindergarten and elementary levels, 34,244 for junior high school and 356 positions for senior high school.

During deliberations on a proposed law that will regulate class size, DepEd said that current policy limits the students to a maximum of 30 per class in kindergarten, 35 in Grades 1 to 3 and 40 in Grades 5 to 12.

“Aside from reducing class size, the department’s efforts to provide an environment conducive to learning include acquisition of land for school sites, construction of multi-story school buildings in areas with limited land space and use of shuttle services in cooperation with local government units to transport students to schools with available classrooms,” said Mateo.

“DepEd also conducted early registration activities to prepare for arising issues and concerns that learners, teachers and parents may encounter in the upcoming school year,” he added.

The education official said they would consider adding teachers in a particular school when a class size exceeds the maximum number of students.

He said they are also factoring in the specialization of teachers in identifying the ideal class size for senior high school.

Meanwhile, environmental group EcoWaste Coalition urged school heads and teachers to ensure that paints containing toxic lead components are not used in preparing schools for the opening of classes.

Lead-containing paints that are typically used for homes, schools, daycare centers and playgrounds, as well as for toys and other children’s products have been phased out since Dec. 31, 2016.

EcoWaste said Brigada Eskwela participants should abide with Department Order No. 4, series of 2017, which requires the “mandatory use of lead-safe paints in schools.”

Education Secretary Leonor Briones reinforced her earlier directive by issuing Department Order 64 in December 2017, which affirms the use of “independently certified lead-safe paints” as part of the minimum performance standards and specifications for DepEd school buildings. – With Rhodina Villanueva