BUDGET Secretary Amenah Pangandaman has approved the creation of 4,000 new teacher positions as part of efforts to strengthen the education sector and ensure sufficient manpower in public schools.
The DBM, in a statement, said the 4,000 positions are the second batch of teaching positions to complete the 20,000 teaching items for creation for 2025. The first batch, composed of 16,000, was approved last May.
The new teachers, who shall receive a salary grade 11, will be composed of 1,658 for kindergarten/elementary, 391 for junior high school (JHS), and 1,951 for senior high school (SHS).
Budget Undersecretary Goddes Hope Libiran said funding for the new teacher items will be sourced from the P3.810 billion under the 2025 General Appropriations Act.
Apart from the hiring of teachers, the fund will also go to teacher training and professional development for existing and newly hired teachers, including In-Service Training (InSeT).
MARAWI SCHOOLS GOES ONLINE
As this developed, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the distribution of five Starlink internet units and 20 laptops to two public elementary schools and two public high schools located in remote parts of Marawi City, along with school bags and supplies to elementary students.
The President also inspected the Temporary Learning Spaces (TLS), which serve as classrooms for thousands of displaced learners and teachers, and showed some young pupils how to use the laptops and surf the internet.
The TLS hosts four elementary schools and one high school, providing essential educational access to a total of 720 students – 121 students from Marawi City Elementary School, 85 from Mambuay Elementary School, 149 from Banggolo Elementary School, 143 from Marawi Central Elementary Pilot School, and 222 students from Dansalan National High School.
Marcos emphasized the importance of restoring normalcy in education as a key step in the city’s recovery.
He also visited the site of the ongoing construction of the Marawi Dansalan Integrated High School and ordered the expediting of the establishment of the P520-million school.
He also ordered authorities to ensure the power and water supply of the school, as well as other facilities, estimated at P264.2 million, would be in place before the students are transferred to the DIHS. The proposed facilities include a retaining wall, an automatic fire sprinkler system, a fence, a gate, electrical distribution with associated civil works, and a footbridge.
Local officials had asked for some gazebos, guardhouses, a covered court, stairs and ramps, as well as a covered path walk with drainage and landscaping, while the teachers asked for more desks and armchairs.
The MDIS is composed of 10 four-story school buildings, which have a total of 200 classrooms designed to accommodate 45 to 50 learners per room.
The school construction was funded by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) while the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Region oversaw the design, construction, and completion of the school buildings.
