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MANILA, Philippines — The teacher shortage nationwide remains at approximately 30,000, despite the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approving at least 16,000 new teaching positions, an official of the Department of Education said yesterday.
DepEd Undersecretary for human resources and organizational development Willie Cabral said in a radio interview that the 16,000 new positions are part of the 20,000 teaching posts planned for 2025.
“Based on our inventory, we have more or less a shortage of 60,000 teachers – or 56,000 teachers to be exact at that time – but we were given 22,000 in 2024 and 20,000 for 2025. We are seeing a shortage of more or less 30,000. We based that on the number of (students) who are returning to study and the teacher-student ratio,” Cabral said.
DepEd continues to assess the extent of teacher shortages and is seeking additional support from the DBM, in line with directives from Education Secretary Sonny Angara and President Marcos to ensure adequate school resources.
“The 16,000 teaching items are included in the budget for 2025. It is part of the 20,000 approved by DBM so the 16,000 is only the tranche one or first batch, we still have the next 4,000 for submission to the DBM,” Cabral noted.
These 16,000 positions will be allocated across all education levels, including elementary, junior and senior high school, the Alternative Learning System, as well as special education and special science programs.
Recruitment efforts began as early as October 2024, with school divisions authorized to start hiring qualified applicants from the registered pool. Superintendents are responsible for contacting candidates to submit final hiring documents.
School divisions are given flexibility to conduct a second round of applications if more teachers are needed. Applicants may indicate their preferred school and education level during the process.
According to the Salary Standardization 6, a Teacher 1 position offers a gross monthly income of P30,000.
Teachers’ training
In a related development, the DepEd announced that training sessions for teachers in 841 schools selected for the pilot run of the strengthened Senior High School (SHS) curriculum will begin this week.
The initiative forms part of the agency’s efforts to improve foundational learning and curriculum delivery ahead of the full rollout scheduled for School Year 2025-2026.
Under the revised curriculum, five core subjects – Effective Communication, Life Skills, General Mathematics, General Science and Pag-aaral ng Kasaysayan at Lipunang Pilipino – will now be taught over the span of an entire academic year, rather than a single semester. This adjustment is aimed at reinforcing subject mastery and deepening students’ comprehension of key concepts.
Of the 841 pilot schools, 580 are public while 261 are private institutions. More than 800 of these schools are based in urban areas, while 35 are located in rural communities.
DepEd officials have also outlined plans to orient school principals on curriculum implementation to ensure consistency and quality in the pilot phase.
The department’s target is to implement the fully revised SHS curriculum by 2026, with the first batch of Grade 12 students expected to complete the program under the new system.
A separate study by a private partner will also be conducted to assess the outcomes of the pilot implementation. The selected pilot schools represent around 6.6 percent of the country’s 12,739 senior high schools.
The upcoming school year is set to open on June 16 and end on March 31, 2026. — Neil Jayson Servallos, Jose Rodel Clapano
