The Department of Education on Thursday said it will renew and hire more than 7,000 administrative support staff to ease the workload of public school teachers.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the renewal and hiring of the 7, 062 school-based administrative support staff under Contract of Service (CoS) is part of the department’s efforts to remove non-teaching tasks from teachers, ensuring that they can dedicate more time to lesson preparation and student engagement.
“These personnel will provide clerical and administrative support to school heads, allowing teachers to focus on their core responsibility of teaching,” Angara said in a brief statement.
“Our teachers belong in the classroom, not buried under paperwork. By ensuring that every school has the necessary support staff, we are taking a concrete step toward making the learning environment more focused, effective, and responsive to the needs of our students,” he added.
Last year, the DepEd issued an order mandating the immediate removal of administrative tasks from public school teachers.
This was followed by another order which rationalizes teachers’ workload and provides guidelines for compensating teaching overload.
Angara said the compensation of the administration and support personnel will be based on the prevailing regional minimum wage, multiplied by 22 working days per month.
The contract also includes a 12.5 percent premium, which will be paid in tranches.
Under the renewal and hiring guidelines, CoS personnel will “assist with school operations such as preparing reports, coordinating school programs and activities, and handling other clerical tasks assigned by the school head.”
Angara said applicants must have at least a senior high school diploma and basic administrative skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office and the ability to operate office equipment.
No prior work experience or training is required.
Incumbent CoS personnel whose contracts are being renewed, must have met performance expectations based on their terms of reference and evaluation by their respective schools division offices.
The 2025 General Appropriations Act has authorized the creation of 10,000 positions for administrative officers and support staff in DepEd.
The Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) earlier said its study found that two out of three public school teachers in the country work beyond their 40-hour workweek, largely due to administrative tasks.
