The Department of Education (DepEd) hopes to secure enough funding to hire more than 30,000 teachers by 2026. This aims to reduce the shortage in public schools and help children who need more attention.
This can be said to be the biggest hiring of the DepEd in a year because 32,916 Teacher I items are included in the National Expenditure Program submitted to Congress. According to Sen. Angara, more teachers will ease crowded classrooms and improve the quality of teaching.
In addition, DepEd also plans to fill 6,000 School Principal I, and hire 10,000 School Counselor Associate I to assist with issues such as bullying and learner well-being.
The 2026 hiring plan is in addition to the 20,000 new positions of 2025 and 33,052 unfilled positions from previous years. It also includes the hiring of 11,268 Administrative Officer II and 5,000 Project Development Officer I.
The DepEd said this massive hiring is proof of the urgency to resolve classroom congestion and confidence in the department's ability to implement larger changes in the education system.
