DepEd to need 81k teachers for senior high school by 2016

Up to 81,637 new teachers may be hired by the Department of Education (DepEd) between 2016 to 2017 upon the rollout of the senior high school program under the K to 12 system.

In a preliminary report it showed to lawmakers on June 24, DepEd said the figure was based on the assumption that  some 1.1 million Grade 10 finishers of public junior high school will enroll in public senior high school when academic year 2016-2017 begins.

Should 400,000 out of the projected 1.1 million Grade 10 finishers of public junior high school decide to study in private senior high schools through the  Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (E-GASTPE) program, DepEd said the vacancies for teaching positions will drop to 51,164.

Under the enhanced basic education program of the Department of Education—called K to 12 or Kindergarten plus Grades 1-12—a student will be required to undergo kindergarten, six years of elementary, four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school.

The additional two years in senior high school is aimed at preparing students for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.

9,900 vacancies

Based on the DepEd report, the subject where there will be the most number of teaching vacancies will be the Technical Vocational Education & Training. Between 9,900 to 15, 634 teachers will be needed to teach the subject.

House Deputy Majority Leader and Makati City Rep. Mar-Len Abigail Binay cited the report Monday to encourage college students taking up education to specialize in a particular field where their expertise may be necessary in the future.

“We are reporting these figures out so that this early, teacher education students who are about to graduate, fresh (teacher education) graduates, as well as newly licensed teachers still looking for gainful employment, can start specializing in subjects where their services may be required by K to 12,” she said in a statement.  

The projected teaching vacancies identified by the DepEd for other subjects are as follows:

• English (5,197 to 8,178)
• Filipino (4,626 to 7,267)
• Social Science (5,529 to 8,697)
• Humanities (2,665 to 4,171)
• Math/Statistics (4,626 to 7,267)
• Advance Math (382 to 609)
• Physical Science (4,022 to 6,313)
• Life Science (3,640 to 5,707)
• Information & Communications Technology (2,560 to 3,982)
• ABM/Economics/Entrepreneurship (4,043 to 6,356)
• Philosophy (2,162 to 3,412)
• Physical Education (1,737 to 4,055)

Binay said the new teaching vacancies identified by the DepEd will be on top of those which the agency may seek to create in the proposed 2015 national budget to fill the public school system’s existing staff shortages.

Commission on Higher Education records show that some 450,000 students are now taking up education as their major, making it the most heavily subscribed college program.

For 2014, DepEd is seeking to fill 33,194 teaching vacancies and 1,500 school principals. Its budget for recruitment is P9.5 billion. —Xianne Arcangel/KBK, GMA News