DepEd eyes hiring counselor associates after Ateneo de Zamboanga shooting

The Department of Education (DepEd) is looking to hire counselor associates as part of efforts to strengthen student support following the fatal shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said.

Angara noted that the department is looking at hiring counselor associates with degrees in psychology and related fields amid a shortage of professional guidance counselors in schools.

He said the professionalization of guidance counseling has made recruitment difficult because professional guidance counselors are required to have a master’s degree.

“What we have are counselor associates with a degree in psychology and other related [fields],” Angara said during the situation briefing in Zamboanga City.

The move is part of a broader effort to ensure that schools provide support not only for students’ academic needs but also for their psychological and emotional well-being.

Angara said teachers may also be given a group of students whom they can regularly check on, including how they are doing at school and at home.

“The role is not just to teach the students but also to check in on the students periodically, to ask them how they’re doing and how things are at home and how they are having difficulties in any way,” he noted.

He also added that DepEd is looking at a “big brother, big sister” approach in public schools, particularly to help new students feel welcomed and supported.

“Yung mga ganong klaseng maliliit na intervention, pero sa totoo malaki, malaking bagay siya sa isang kabataan,” Angara told reporters during an ambush interview.

(Those may seem like small interventions, but they can actually mean a lot to a young person.)

Angara also pointed to the need for stronger involvement of parents in monitoring and supporting children, including through programs on responsible parenthood being implemented with other government agencies.

He said the goal is for school communities to know their students better and identify possible difficulties they may be facing.

“Talagang makihalubilo tayo sa ating mga estudyante. Kilalanin po natin talaga sila. Kamusta sila, kamustahin natin sila,” he said.

(We really have to interact with our students, get to know them, and ask how they are doing.)

Angara stressed that DepEd already has mental health interventions in schools but acknowledged that these programs need to be strengthened.

“Hindi lang yung magturo, kundi parang pangalawang tahanan na ho yun eh,” he noted.

(It’s not just about teaching; schools have also become like a second home.) —VAL, GMA News