DepEd orders immediate removal of teachers' admin tasks

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte issued an order on Friday removing administrative tasks for public school teachers.

''This DepEd Order (DO) is guided by agency directions to remove the nonteaching tasks of teachers to give support to teachers to teach better. This is geared toward building a conducive environment for effective teaching and learning to thrive,'' DepEd Order 2 stated.

It said the order would be effective ''immediately'' upon its publication on the agency's website.

On Thursday, Duterte said the order was the result of several consultations with their field personnel.

“Let us bring our teachers back to the classrooms,” she said in her presentation of the Second Basic Education Report.

The Philippine Business for Education welcomed the order, saying it was ''a step in the right direction in solving our learning crisis.''

“The removal of non-teaching duties from our teachers is a step in the right direction in solving our learning crisis. It is high time that we let our teachers focus on what they are supposed to do and that is to facilitate learning,” PBEd executive director Justine Raagas said in a ''24 Oras Weekend'' report by Katrina Son.

But at Manggahan Elementary School in Pasig City, teacher Raymond Bongalos, who also oversees disaster management and serves as a custodian, is concerned about who will take over his administrative duties.

"Mas mahirap po ngayon. Ang nangyayari kasi, programa, wala naman talaga pang taong uupo," Bongalos said.

(It is more difficult now. What is happening right now is that there is a program, but there are no people appointed for the tasks.)

In addition, Bongalos said he is a class adviser and already has a "full load" of subjects to teach.

Ariel Martinez, a school librarian, suggests appointing administrative personnel in schools before implementing the DepEd order.

"Kung mayroon silang ipadadalang mga kukuha ng task na 'yon, mas maganda kasi 'yun ang expertise nila," he said.

(If they will send someone to take on those tasks, it will be better because that is their expertise.)

Other teacher groups proposed hiring enough personnel to fill up vacant administrative positions.

"Sa totoo lang 'yung 10,000 ay hindi sapat para roon sa 47,900 schools," said Vladimir Quetua, Alliance of Concerned Teachers national chairperson.

(Actually, 10,000 people are not enough for the 47,900 schools.)

ACT also called on DepEd to focus on the immediate needs of teachers, such as salary increases and better benefits.

GMA Integrated News asked DepEd for comment.

In August 2023, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved the creation of 5,000 non-teaching positions for the DepEd schools across the country to provide “adequate manpower and support to educators in giving quality instruction to learners.”

According to the DBM, there are 3,500 Administrative Officer (AO) II positions intended to relieve teachers of administrative tasks that support operations.

The remaining 1,500 are Project Development Officer (PDO) I positions, which shall complement the AO II and other non-teaching personnel in schools by facilitating the implementation of various programs, projects, and activities initiated by schools or mandated by the DepEd Central Office.

The AO II and PDO I positions are entitled to a basic salary of P27,000 (SG-11), the DBM said. — with a report from Jamil Santos/VBL, GMA Integrated News