DEPED TO ADDRESS SHORTAGE OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS, EYES 'ONE PRINCIPAL-ONE SCHOOL' POLICY

The Department of Education (DepED) is eyeing to implement a one principal-one school policy in the country and to promote qualified teachers to principals to fill up almost 25,000 public schools nationwide has no principals.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) reported that around half of DepEd schools do not have principals. According to a recent EDCOM II report, of the 45,199 DepEd Schools in the country, only 20,381 have principals while 24,916 are without principals.

Out of those without principals, 13,332 schools only have head teachers, 8,916 schools had teachers in charge (TIC), 2,337 schools with officers in charge (OIC), and 193 schools classified under “undefined”.

DepED said it was filling up principal positions as more than half of public schools in the country have been operating without principals (Photo courtesy of ABS-CBN News)

EDCOM II is a “national commission tasked to undertake a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector, by virtue of Republic Act 11899” or the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) Act.

In a statement Secretary Sonny Angara said the DepEd is likewise assessing the distribution of qualified principals nationwide. It said that the government is considering deploying principals to schools that lack school heads, aiming to implement a 1:1 principal-to-school policy.

The Education Department is also planning to prioritize the promotion and reclassification of qualified Head Teachers and Teachers-in-Charge into formal principal position to address the shortage of school heads.

It will also assess regions with an oversupply of qualified principal applicants and develop strategies to fairly re-deploy them to areas that do not have school heads.

Under DepEd Department Order 77 issued in 2010, a principal will be designated to a school if the school has at least nine teachers. One principal will also be designated for a cluster of at least three schools which has a combined number of nine teachers. 

Meanwhile, school heads, according to EDCOM II, are assigned to schools with at least six teachers and to a cluster of three schools with also at least six teachers.

School heads play a crucial role in providing instructional leadership, managing school operations, ensuring the effective implementation of policies, and fostering a supportive learning environment that enhances both teacher performance and student outcomes under the country’s education system.

Source: Daily Tribune

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