DepEd Plans to Hire More Admin Staff to Lighten Teachers’ Workload

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MANILA – The Department of Education (DepEd) announced plans to increase the number of administrative staff to reduce the non-teaching duties of public school teachers, following the start of the 2024-2025 school year.


In a spontaneous interview, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara acknowledged the current shortage of administrative assistants, even after deploying 5,000 non-teaching personnel.


“Our administrative assistants are overwhelmed, with some having to manage responsibilities at three different schools,” Angara noted.


To address this issue, DepEd is undertaking a study to determine the exact number of additional staff required and exploring ways to minimize teachers' administrative burdens.


“We will seek more manpower support and consider reducing non-teaching reports,” Angara stated.


He also mentioned ongoing adjustments, as some teachers reported feeling overwhelmed during the pilot implementation of the MATATAG curriculum.


“Since it’s still in the pilot phase, we can make changes easily,” Angara assured.


Overall, DepEd encountered only minor issues during the school opening, despite the challenges posed by the enhanced southwest monsoon and Super Typhoon Carina.


As of Thursday, 615 public schools have yet to start classes, affecting 454,082 students in Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon. These schools are expected to open on August 5.


Currently, DepEd has achieved 83% of its enrollment target for public and private schools nationwide, with 23,087,785 learners enrolled out of the 27,722,835 target. This includes 256,643 students enrolled in the Alternative Learning System (ALS).


The highest enrollment was recorded in Calabarzon with 3.38 million students, followed by Central Luzon with 2.45 million, and Metro Manila with 2.36 million.

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