THE Department of Education yesterday said low salaries and lack of career progression have stymied its drive to hire more school guidance counselors.
DepEd spokesperson Michael Tan Poa said the department only has 2,093 guidance counselors to cater to the needs of over 28 million students in the basic education sector, or a ratio of one guidance counselor per 14,000 students.
“The ideal ratio should have been one guidance counselor per 250 students,” Poa told Teleradyo.
The need for more guidance counselors has been highlighted by the increase in the number of students with mental health issues and recent suicides.
Poa said in the DepEd-National Capital Region alone, there are currently 400 unfilled positions for guidance counselors.
He said as much as the DepEd wants to rectify the problem, it can only do so much due to the unattractive salary for the position and lack of career progression.
“The entry-level salary amounts to only P27,000 and the qualification is one should have a masteral degree so based on that, the salary is not really attractive,” he said.
Poa also said unlike teachers where career progression is clear from teacher 1, 2 and 3 and higher levels, guidance counselors lack a definite career progression plan.
Poa said the DepEd will also talk to the Department of Budget and Management to see if salaries for guidance counselors can be increased.
“The role of our guidance counselors is very important not only on the issue of providing advise on mental health problems but also on the thoughts of our learners since they are the ones talking to them,” he said.
Last month, DepEd Assistant Education Secretary Dexter Galban told the Senate that 404 young students in various parts of the country took their own lives and 2,147 others attempted suicide during academic year 2021-2022 when most schools were still closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Galban said of the 28 million learners in public schools, 775,962 sought the assistance of guidance counselors during the period. Of those cases, 8,000 involved bullying.
